Svetlana S. Gans

Svetlana Gans is Co-Chair of the Firm’s Consumer Protection Practice and resident in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn. She focuses on proactive and reactive engagement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice Antitrust Division concerning competition and consumer protection investigations, rulemaking, and related policy matters.  Most recently, Svetlana served as the FTC Chief of Staff in the first Trump Administration and senior advisor to Acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen on FTC enforcement matters, interagency coordination, and strategic initiatives including concerning regulatory reform, process reform, and healthcare policy. Svetlana’s practice runs the full scope of the FTC including inquiries pertaining to unfair billing, deceptive advertising practices, right to repair, franchising, and Made in the USA claims; alleged anticompetitive conduct; Magnuson-Moss and APA rulemakings; agency market studies and workshops; proactive engagement and competitor complaints; and related external engagement. Svetlana was recently featured to Lawdragon's prestigious lists of “500 Leading Litigators in America” and “500 Leading Antitrust and Competition Lawyers.” She was also recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for her exceptional work in Antitrust Litigation for 2025-2026. Svetlana is also a sought-after speaker.

Svetlana serves as the Chairman of the Federalist Society’s Antitrust and Consumer Protection Executive Committee and was the recipient of the inaugural Volunteer of the Year Award for the organization. She has also initiated and led several novel programs to mentor and assist law students and young lawyers interested in consumer protection and antitrust law.

Svetlana has served in ABA Antitrust Section leadership for almost two decades, currently serving as the Publications Officer and has been nominated to serve as the Section Vice Chair, beginning in August 2026.

Svetlana served as a Judicial Intern to the Honorable John L. Kane, Jr., while in law school, and as an Honors Program Paralegal for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Merger Taskforce, prior to law school. She received her law degree with high honors from the University of Denver College of Law and earned her undergraduate degrees cum laude from Boston University.

Recent speaking engagements include:

Speaker, Algorithmic Pricing and Collusion Enforcement Trends, IFA Legal Forum (May 2026)

Speaker, Made in the USA: Stars, Stripes and Legal Gripes, ABA Antitrust Law Section (March 2026)

Speaker, FTC Consumer Protection Developments in the Trump Administration, Federalist Society (February 2026)

Speaker, Keep Your Eye on the Ball: Inspector and Regulator Focus on Labels and Claims, Consumer Brands Association (February 2026)

Instructor, TMT Law & Policy Certificate Program, Federal Trade Commission Fundamentals, Federal Communications Bar Association (February 2026)

Speaker, Federal Trade Commission and DOJ Consumer Protection Updates, FMI-The Food Industry Association (June 2025)

Organizer, Fireside Chat with FTC Bureau Directors, Federalist Society (May 2025)

Interviewer, Interview with FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, Consumer Brands Association Legal Forum (February 2025)

Moderator, Antitrust and FTC Reform in the New Congress, Federalist Society (February 2025)

Organizer, The Congressional Review Act: Process and Procedure, Federalist Society (February 2025)

Moderator, Is FTC Administrative Litigation Constitutional, Federalist Society (December 2024)

Moderator, FTC Negative Option, Junk Fee, and Commercial Surveillance Rulemakings (July 2024)

Moderator, Cost-Benefit Analysis in FTC Rulemaking, Regulatory Transparency Project (February 2023)

Moderator, FTC Rulemaking, Guidelines, and More, Mercatus Second Annual Antitrust Forum (January 2023)

Speaker, FTC Rulemaking, ABA Antitrust Law Section Fall Forum (November 2022)

Moderator, FTC Privacy Update, Privacy + Security Academy (November 2022)

Speaker, FTC’s Rulemaking Authority: Update Following Recent Developments, Concurrences (October 2022)

Speaker, The FTC’s Independence After Selia Law v. CFPB, The C. Boyden Gray Center (October 2022)

Speaker, Understanding FTC Rulemaking, Future of Antitrust Law, BYU (September 2022)

Speaker, Regulating Privacy: A Discussion About FTC Privacy Rulemaking, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University School of Law (September 2022)

Speaker, Is Antitrust Becoming HR’s Biggest Headache, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Antitrust Webcast (July 2022)

Speaker, Consumer Protection Year in Review, ABA Antitrust Law Section Spring Meeting (April 2022)

Moderator, Antitrust Forum: One Year of Biden Antitrust, Mercatus Antitrust Conference (January 2022)

Moderator, Understanding FTC’s Penalty Offense Authority and Other Agency Developments, ABA Antitrust Law Section (January 2022)

Speaker, FTC’s Revolution Through Rulemaking, Federalist Society Regulatory Transparency Project (November 2021)

Moderator, The FTC in the Current Administration: Buckle Your Seatbelts, Federalist Society (October 2021)

Speaker, Consumer Protection and Privacy Cases That Matter, ABA Antitrust Law Section Consumer Protection Conference (July 2021)

Session Leader and Moderator, The Future of FTC Rulemaking, Federalist Society Chatham Program (June 2021)

Moderator, Unleashing Your Superpowers: Women’s Professional Development Series, ABA Antitrust Law Section (May 2021)

Moderator, Consumer Protection Priorities in the Biden Administration, Regulatory and Enforcement Priorities in 2021, Federal Communications Bar Association (April 2021)

Moderator, Fireside Chat with Bilal Sayyed, former FTC Director, Office of Policy Planning, Federalist Society (February 2021)

Moderator, Cultivating Women’s Leadership on Corporate Boards, Federal Communications Bar Association (January 2021)

Interviewer, Fireside Chat with FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips: The House Judiciary Antitrust Staff Report, Federalist Society (November 2020)

Moderator, The Evolving Privacy Landscape: The Next Steps on the Federal Front, Industry Perspectives, Federal Communications Bar Association (November 2020)

Speaker, Data Privacy in the New Decade: Consumer Rights, Platform Regulation, and Enforcement Mechanisms, FCBA (October 2020)

Moderator, Implications of Data Portability: A Consumer Protection Tool or Burden? Regulatory Transparency Project (October 2020)

Moderator, FTC Rulemaking: Underutilized Tool or National Nanny Renewed?, Federalist Society (July 2020)

Moderator, Deep Dive: FTC Remedial Authority, Federalist Society (June 2020)

Moderator, Nascent Competition Analysis, Federalist Society Chatham House (June 2020)

Speaker, FTC “Unfair Methods of Competition” Rulemaking: Pros, Cons, and Process, Federalist Society (June 2020)

Interviewer, Fireside Chat, Hot Topics with FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson, Federalist Society (May 2020)

Speaker, FTC Fundamentals and Hot Topics for Comms. Lawyers, FCBA (March 2020)

Moderator, Be Fearless: Women Leading Washington, WICT DC/Baltimore Chapter (February 2020)

Speaker, Trade Association Careers, Antitrust Section (February 2020)

Moderator, Women Leading Together (Panel and Table Discussion), FCBA Inaugural Women’s Summit (January 2020)

Speaker, Regulatory Oversight of Technology Companies, PLI 37^th Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation (December 2019)

Speaker, Protecting Children Online, FOSI 2019 Annual Conference (November 2019)

Speaker and Moderator, 2019 Antitrust Fall Forum Tech Summit: A Competitive Future (November 2019)

Moderator, Deep Dive Episode 76 – FTC’s 21^st Century Hearings, Federalist Society, Regulatory Transparency Project’s Fourth Branch Podcast (October 2019)

Moderator, FTC 13(b) Authority – Powers, Process & Suggestions for Reform (October 2019)

Moderator, FTC’s 21^st Century Hearings: Paving the Way for Principles and Guidance, Federalist Society (October 2019)

Speaker, Antitrust in the Digital Age, Federalist Society (October 2019)

Speaker, FTC & DOJ Transition Team: TPI Aspen Breakout Session, TPI Aspen (August 2019)

Moderator, Morning Fireside Chat with FTC’s Andrew Stivers, Seventh Annual Public Policy Symposium on the Law & Economics of Privacy and Data Security (May 2019)

Moderator, Toward a New Baseline Privacy Law: Harmonizing the GDPR, California, and the FTC, Privacy + Security Forum (April 2019)

Speaker, Social Media and Influencer Marketing: How FTC Guidance and Settlements Are Influencing Social Media Engagement, Venable LLP Advertising Law Boot Camp and Symposium (April 2019)

Interviewer, Fireside Chat with FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson, Federal Trade Commission, Federalist Society (March 2019)

Speaker, Know Yourself: Networking in the Digital Age, WICT DC/Baltimore Chapter (February 2019)

Recent articles include:

SCOTUS Preview: Axon v. FTC, Federalist Society (October 2022)

FTC Launches Commercial Surveillance Rulemaking, Truth on the Market (August 2022)

The FTC Heads for Legal Trouble, Wall Street Journal (August 2022)

Capabilities

• White Collar Defense and Investigations
• Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
• Antitrust and Competition
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Consumer Products and Retail
• Consumer Protection
• Crisis Management
• Media, Entertainment, and Technology
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Public Policy
• State Attorneys General
• Tech and Innovation

Credentials

Education:

• University of Denver - 2001 Juris Doctor
• Boston University - 1997 Bachelor of Science
• Boston University - 1997 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• District of Columbia Bar