Timothy J. Muris Biography

Tim Muris is Foundation Professor at the GMU School of Law. He has broad public and private experience, including substantial experience in antitrust, consumer protection, privacy regulation, and strategic counseling. Tim served as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission from 2001–2004. During Tim’s tenure as FTC Chairman, he placed renewed emphasis on the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property; dramatically increased the FTC’s attention to competition in the health care sector; increased the agency’s use of administrative litigation; and argued for greater reliance on the market and less use of government regulation in wide sectors of the economy.

Prior to becoming Chairman of the FTC, Tim held a number of other positions within the agency. He served as the Assistant to the Director of the Planning Office from 1974–1976, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection from 1981–1983, and the Director of the Bureau of Competition from 1983–1985. While serving as Director of the Bureau of Competition, Tim successfully prosecuted three cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned circuit court decisions against the Commission. After leaving the FTC in 1985, Tim served with the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, for three years. In 2005, he served on President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform.

Tim received his JD from the University of California, Los Angeles (1974), where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and associate editor of the UCLA Law Review, and his BA from San Diego State University (1971).

He has written more than 60 books, monographs, and articles, including: “Principles for a Successful Competition Agency,” University of Chicago Law Review (Vol. 72, Winter 2005); “Improving the Economic Foundations of Competition Policy,” George Mason University Law Review (Vol. 12, Fall 2003); and “Looking Forward: The Federal Trade Commission and the Future Development of U.S. Competition Policy,” 2 Columbia Bus. L. Rev. 359 (2003). He also has testified before numerous Congressional Committees on antitrust, consumer protection, and regulatory and budget issues.