Gibson Dunn Adds Former Federal Trade Commission Chief of Staff Svetlana S. Gans as Partner in Washington, D.C., Bolstering Firm’s Consumer Protection, Privacy and Antitrust Practices
Firm News | April 5, 2022
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Svetlana S. Gans has joined the firm as a partner. Previously Vice President and Associate General Counsel at the NCTA – The Internet & Television Association and a former Chief of Staff for Acting Federal Trade Commission Chair Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Gans joins the Antitrust and Competition; Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation; and Public Policy Practice Groups at Gibson Dunn.
“Svetlana is a strong addition to the firm,” said Barbara L. Becker, Chair and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. “With her FTC credentials, trade association experience, and industry connections, she will add immediate value to our ability to serve our technology and other sector clients on regulatory, investigative, policy and legislative matters.”
“We are thrilled to have Svetlana on board,” said Ashlie Beringer, Co-Chair of the Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Group. “She has the unique experience of serving in both antitrust and consumer protection roles at the FTC and as Chief of Staff to Chair Ohlhausen. Her mix of FTC experience at different levels of the agency, combined with her focus on digital platform initiatives, will give us added depth in our competition, consumer protection, data privacy and public policy practices. The timing is perfect as we have seen a sharp increase in demand from our clients in all of these areas, which are rapidly converging.”
“I have long been impressed by Gibson’s leading regulatory and litigation practices, especially in the areas of privacy, consumer protection, and antitrust,” said Gans. “I’m eager to work alongside my new colleagues on issues of the utmost importance to our clients and deliver exceptional client service.”
About Svetlana S. Gans
At Gibson Dunn, Gans will advise on regulatory and public policy matters, including counseling, investigations, enforcement, rulemakings, workshops, and other proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, other federal and state agencies, and Congress. She has significant experience in the areas of privacy and consumer protection, including advertising and marketing practices, and issues at the intersection of antitrust and privacy, such as digital regulation.
Gans has been an active leader in the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section for almost two decades, currently serving as the Section’s Marketing Officer. She is also a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association, serving as Co-Chair of the Diversity Pipeline Program and Women’s Leadership Committee. Gans has led several initiatives to assist law students and young lawyers, many of whom are diverse or first-generation law students, interested in privacy, consumer protection and antitrust law and policy.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Gans served as the Vice President & Associate General Counsel at the NCTA – The Internet & Television Association since July 2018. In this role, she helped lead engagement strategy and advocacy on competition, privacy, data security, consumer protection, digital regulation, and emerging technology issues before the FTC, DOJ, and Congress.
From 2010 to 2018, she served in various roles at the FTC, most recently as Chief of Staff for Acting Chair Maureen K. Ohlhausen. As Chief of Staff, she managed and oversaw agency operations and served as the Acting Chair’s key advisor on competition and consumer protection investigations and litigation. She created, executed, and oversaw several strategic initiatives for the agency, including the agency process reform, regulatory reform, and data security transparency initiatives.
During her tenure at the agency, she also served as an Attorney Advisor to then-Commissioner Ohlhausen and as Senior Staff Attorney in the Division of Marketing Practices of the Bureau of Consumer Protection and in the Mergers IV Division in the Bureau of Competition.
Prior to her service at the FTC, Gans practiced at two major U.S. law firms. She graduated with high honors in 2001 from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she was Editor of the Transportation Law Journal, and served as a legal extern for Judge John L. Kane in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and with the Office of the Attorney General, Colorado Department of Law.