Originally published in 2007, the FTC Practice and Procedure Manual has been updated to reflect important developments at the agency in recent years. The FTC continues to be an active and influential authority in both competition and consumer protection matters, and an understanding of the agency is necessary for everyone who practices in those fields. The FTC Practice and Procedure Manual is intended to provide a "how-to" guide for lawyers and parties involved in both competition and consumer protection matters before the FTC.

The manual’s primary focus is on procedural matters rather than substantive antitrust or consumer protection law (subjects covered by other Section publications). It outlines the FTC’s statutory authority, in particular Section 5 of the FTC Act, underlying the competition and consumer protection missions. It also describes in detail the FTC’s organizational structure and rules, procedural issues relating to mergers, rules and procedures for investigations (including confidentiality protections relating to its investigatory and enforcement efforts), the agency’s adjudicatory function, and its relationships with other federal agencies.

This book will make FTC practice accessible to attorneys who may not come before the FTC regularly, and also provide enough detail and resources to be useful to those who deal with the FTC often.

Over the last several years, the FTC has reinvigorated its administrative litigation process and actively litigated both merger and non-merger cases. The agency’s agenda touches on timely and complex issues in areas including healthcare, the IP/antitrust interface, and privacy and data security. The revised edition of this manual thus comes at a time when it is crucial to understand how the agency works. By providing a framework for understanding the process behind the FTC’s decision-making, and a guide for what to expect in an investigation—or litigation— involving the agency, this book should facilitate the practitioner’s ability to handle issues that arise under the FTC’s jurisdiction.