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Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz today named former FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris the 2010 recipient of the Miles W. Kirkpatrick Award for Lifetime FTC Achievement, recognizing the many significant lasting contributions he has made to the FTC throughout his career.

“Tim Muris provided inspired service to the Federal Trade Commission and to the American public,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said, citing Muris’s contributions and the agency’s mission to protect consumers and encourage competition. “He understood the value of combining economic and legal analyses with common sense, and the measures he advanced to realize this vision, such as the National Do Not Call Registry, raised the FTC’s stature among public institutions throughout the world and among our nation’s consumers.”

Muris served as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission from 2001 through 2004. Earlier, he held other key positions at the Commission, including Director of the Bureau of Competition from 1983 through 1985, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection from 1981 through 1983, and Assistant Director of the Planning Office from 1974 through 1976. From 1985 through 1988, he was an Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Since then, he has been Foundation Professor at the George Mason University School of Law, and he served as the interim dean of the law school from 1996 through 1997. Muris graduated with high honors from San Diego State University in 1971 and received his J.D. in 1974 from UCLA, where he was awarded Order of the Coif and was associate editor of the UCLA Law Review. He is currently Of Counsel at the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers and is Co-Chair of the firm’s Antitrust/Competition Practice.

The Kirkpatrick Award was established in 2001 to honor the commitment and talent of individuals who have made lasting and significant contributions to the FTC throughout their public and private careers. It is named after Miles Kirkpatrick, a legendary figure in the antitrust community known for his dynamic leadership of the American Bar Association’s 1969 commission to study the FTC. The Kirkpatrick Report resulted in a mandate for substantial reform and reorganization of the agency. Kirkpatrick served as FTC Chairman from 1970 to 1973, and in that capacity was able to implement the recommendations of the 1969 report, including recruitment of highly qualified and motivated new talent.

Previous recipients of the award were Basil J. Mezines, Robert Pitofsky, Jodie Bernstein, Caswell O. Hobbs, III, Calvin J. Collier, Thomas B. Leary, and Mary Gardiner Jones.