Washington, D.C. communications law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP has announced that Maureen Ohlhausen will join the firm as a partner, effective December 1, 2009, and will lead the firm’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) practice.  Ms. Ohlhausen, who served for 11 years at the FTC, most recently as Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning from 2004 to 2008, comes to WBK from the Business Software Alliance, an international trade association for the commercial software industry and its hardware partners, where as Technology Policy Counsel she worked with member companies to develop and articulate policy positions on competition, technology neutrality, and privacy issues.

As Director of the Office of Policy Planning, Ms. Ohlhausen headed the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, directing a wide-ranging inquiry into issues surrounding net neutrality and overseeing the issuance of a 2007 FTC staff report on Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy and a 2006 FTC staff report on Municipal Provision of Wireless Internet Services.  Under her leadership, the Office of Policy Planning issued numerous reports, amicus briefs, and advocacy filings on competition and consumer protection topics, principally focusing on e-commerce, advertising, and technology issues. Ms. Ohlhausen also represented the FTC in testimony before Congress and the Antitrust Modernization Commission.  Prior to joining the Office of Policy Planning in 2001, she spent three years as an attorney advisor for FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle and as an attorney in the FTC’s Office of General Counsel.  Before her FTC service, she was a law clerk for now-Chief Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where she also served as a staff attorney.  Ms. Ohlhausen also clerked at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for Judge Robert Yock.  Ms. Ohlhausen graduated with distinction from George Mason University School of Law and from the University of Virginia, where she was an Echols Scholar.  

Ms. Ohlhausen has been on the adjunct faculty at George Mason University School of Law and is a Senior Editor of the Antitrust Law Journal.  She is a member of the American Bar Association Task Force on Competition and Public Policy and is a frequent author and speaker on competition law, privacy, and technology topics. 

Bryan Tramont, Managing Partner of Wilkinson Barker Knauer, said, “The rise of broadband services outside the FTC Act’s common carriage exemption means that, across all platforms, the agency will play an increasingly important role in communications policy.  Maureen’s leadership in broadband policy, privacy and a host of other issues will be a tremendous asset to our clients.  We look forward to having her head up our FTC team and to her contributions to the continued growth of the firm.” 

Ms. Ohlhausen commented, “I am eager to bring my expertise in competition and technology policy to one of the premier communications law firms in the country.  I look forward to developing this practice area and helping the firm’s clients navigate these issues.”

Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP is one of the largest law firms in the nation dedicated exclusively to the practice of communications and technology law. The firm advises its clients, which range from global Fortune 100 companies to small start-ups, in regulatory, transactional, corporate and litigation matters involving all aspects of telecommunications and mass media. More information about the firm can be found at http://www.wbklaw.com, and Ms. Ohlhausen can be reached at (202) 383-3403 and at mohlhausen@wbklaw.com.