Robert Pitofsky Explained

Robert Pitofsky
Office1:	Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission
President1:	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
Term Start1:	April 11, 1995
Term End1:	May 31, 2001
Predecessor1:	Janet Dempsey Steiger
Successor1:	Timothy Muris
Office2:	Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
President2:	Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan
Term Start2:	June 29, 1978
Term End2:	April 30, 1981
Predecessor2:	Calvin J. Collier
Successor2:	George W. Douglas
Birth Date:	27 December 1929
Birth Place:	Paterson, New Jersey
Death Place:	Chevy Chase, Maryland
Party:	Democratic
Education:	New York University Columbia Law School

Robert Pitofsky (December 27, 1929 – October 6, 2018) was an American lawyer and politician who was the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States from April 11, 1995, to May 31, 2001.^[1] He had previously been Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center from 1983 to 1989, and was Dean Emeritus at the time of his death.^[2]

Early life and education

Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey,^[3] Pitofsky attended Eastside High School.^[4] Pitofsky was educated at New York University and the Columbia University School of Law.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Before becoming chairman of the FTC on April 12, 1995, he previously held positions with the FTC as a Commissioner (1978–1981) and as Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (1970–1973).^[5] Pitofsky was the primary author of one of the most widely used casebooks in the area of trade regulation, now in its sixth edition.

Personal life

Pitofsky was married and has three children and seven grandchildren. He died at the age of 88 on October 6, 2018.^[6]

Publications

Books:

• Cases and Materials on Trade Regulation (Foundation Press 5th ed. 2003) (with others).
• "How the Chicago School Overshot the Mark" (Oxford Univ. Press 2008) (Pitofsky, ed.).^[7]

Articles:

• "Antitrust at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century: the Matter of Remedies," 91 Geo. L.J. 169 (2002).
• "Antitrust and Intellectual Property: Unresolved Issues at the Heart of the New Economy," 34 Intell. Prop. L. Rev. 643 (2002), reprinting 16 Berkeley Tech L.J. 535 (2001).
• "The Essential Facilities Doctrine Under United States Antitrust Law," 70 Antitrust L.J. 443 (2002) (with others).
• Challenges of the New Economy: Issues at the Intersection of Antitrust and Intellectual Property. 68. Antitrust Law Journal. 913. 2001.
• "The Political Content of Antitrust," 127 U. Penn. L. Rev. 1050 (1979).
• "Beyond Nader: Consumer Protection and the Regulation of Advertising," 90 Harv. L. Rev. 661 (1977).

See also

• List of former FTC commissioners

External links

• Georgetown University memoriam for Robert Pitofsky
• FTC page listing speeches and testimony by Robert Pitofsky
• Biographies of FTC commissioners as of 1996

Notes and References

1. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/attachments/commissioners/commissioner_chart_november_2018_0.pdf List of Commissioners, Chairwomen, and Chairmen of the Federal Trade Commission: 1915–2018 (as of November 2018)
2. Web site: From Dean Emeritus Robert Pitofsky to Joseph Simons (L'83), Georgetown Law Celebrates Tradition with Federal Trade Commission Hearings Georgetown Law. Law.georgetown.edu. en-US. 2018-10-09.
3. Kang, Cecilia. "Robert Pitofsky, Champion of Consumer Protection, Dies at 88", The New York Times, October 11, 2018. Accessed April 15, 2021. "Robert Pitofsky was born in Paterson, N.J., on Dec. 27, 1929, to Morris and Sadye Pitofsky. His father fixed textile looms, and his mother sold dresses."
4. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/robert-pitofsky-obituary-fqj9vkvpm "Robert Pitofsky obituary Quietly determined chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission who challenged some of the most powerful companies in the world, including BP"
5. News: Robert Pitofsky. 2013-07-18. Federal Trade Commission. 2018-10-09. en.
6. Web site: In Memoriam: Dean Emeritus Robert Pitofsky – Georgetown Law. Law.georgetown.edu.
7. Web site: THE POLITICAL CONTENT OF ANTITRUST. ROBERT PITOFSKY. Scholarship.law.upenn.edu. October 28, 2021.