Markets Wired

The Federal Trade Commission today announced its final U.S. roundtable to be held as part of the ongoing agency initiative “FTC at 100: Into Our Second Century.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Fordham University School of Law on October 24, 2008. It will focus on the agency’s deployment of resources in pursuit of its competition and consumer protection missions, as well as the agency’s relationships with key stakeholders, including consumers, industry, and the media.

Announced in mid-June, the FTC at 100 initiative stems from the idea that, according to the FTC Chairman William E. Kovacic, “There is no substitute for the agency’s own sustained efforts to get things right.” The Commission’s 100th anniversary is in 2014, and the over-arching goal of the self-assessment is to “revisit fundamental questions about the possibilities for improvement” prior to then, to enable the FTC to be the strongest possible agency at this historic juncture. The initiative’s first roundtable event was held in Washington, DC, on July 29-30, 2008, and was followed by additional roundtables in various domestic and international locations this fall.

The New York roundtable will commence with opening remarks by Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Director of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning, and will feature panels moderated by Leonard L. Gordon, Director of the FTC’s Northeast Regional Office; Cynthia L. Lagdameo, Counsel for International Antitrust; Lois C. Greisman, Associate Director in the Bureau of Consumer Protection; and Maureen Ohlhausen. Panelists at the roundtable will include former FTC staff members, as well as academics, practitioners, and consumer and industry representatives.

Topics to be covered during the roundtable include: 1) the optimal use of the agency’s enforcement, research, advocacy, and educational tools; 2) the use of industry self-regulation as a complement to enforcement; 3) the agency’s international outreach efforts; 4) the agency’s external relations with key stakeholders; and 5) evaluating the effectiveness of the FTC’s enforcement and other efforts in the competition and consumer protection areas.

Logistics

The New York roundtable will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 24, 2008 at the Fordham University School of Law, located at 140 West 62nd Street, Room 302, New York, NY.  Pre-registration is not required.  A full agenda for the roundtable, including a list of panelists, can be found on the FTC’s Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/workshops/ftc100/index.shtm.

Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via e-mail to Alice Wong at: aalwong@law.fordham.edu. Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodations needed and a way to contact you if we need more information. Please provide advance notice.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

(FTC at 100 – New York.wpd)