Leading FTC Lawyer Rejoins Covington
March 1, 2021
WASHINGTON—Andrew Smith, most recently the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, has rejoined Covington as a partner in its Advertising and Consumer Protection, Data Privacy and Cybersecurity, and Financial Services practices. He will be based in the firm’s Washington office.
While serving as Bureau Director at the FTC, Mr. Smith led a team of over 400 lawyers and other professionals in Washington and eight regional offices, supported by an annual budget of more than $200 million. The Bureau of Consumer Protection focuses on investigations and enforcement actions in a broad range of areas, including online advertising and marketing, data privacy and security, technology platforms, payments, and financial services. He also oversaw the Bureau’s extensive rulemaking and workshop proceedings, including on the FTC’s Endorsement Guides, auto-renewal marketing, security of financial data, and children’s privacy. He testified before Congress on issues relating to payments, credit reporting, data security, data breaches, and the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Smith was previously a Covington partner and a co-chair of the firm’s Financial Services Group. He has also served as the Chair of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee.
“With regulatory and enforcement activity likely to increase in the new administration, clients will find Andrew's insights invaluable in navigating a wide range of FTC and CFPB policy, compliance, and enforcement issues," said Laura Kim, co-chair of Covington's Advertising and Consumer Protection practice. “Andrew has long been one of the country’s leading consumer protection, privacy, and retail financial services lawyers, and his return to the Covington team deepens our expertise further."
“I am delighted to rejoin my friends and colleagues at Covington,” said Mr. Smith. “Covington is widely recognized as having one of the premier regulatory practices in the world, and companies entrust the firm with their most challenging issues. I look forward to assisting clients in navigating the evolving and complex enforcement and regulatory landscape.”
Mr. Smith received his law degree from College of William and Mary and his undergraduate degree from Williams College.
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