A "solid academic foundation" for law and life

"I'm participating in God's creation in helping to promote the Good, the True, and the Beautiful." David Shaw, a 2005 PHC graduate with a BA in Government, went on to earn his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He is now an antitrust lawyer working for the Federal Trade Commission as Principal Deputy Director. Here's what David Shaw has to say about his position. 

What have you found most fulfilling in your work?

That I'm constantly learning. Antitrust law consists of broadly worded statutes (e.g., Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits unreasonable restraints on trade) that require a detailed understanding of the relevant industry and markets in order to apply. Each matter requires me to do a deep dive into an industry. I often learn just enough to have an intelligent conversation with an expert in the field. And then I get to move on to the next matter.

What do you do in your role at the Federal Trade Commission?

I'm part of the senior leadership team overseeing all of the Federal Trade Commission's competition enforcement program. In broad strokes, that covers two big categories. The first is merger review. We investigate mergers "where the effect may be substantially to lessen competition" in the relevant markets. These investigations come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from a few days to confirm that there are no apparent issues to an in-depth investigation that can last months, involving reviewing millions of pages of documents and taking testimony from witnesses. For a small number of mergers, we initiate an enforcement action to persuade a judge to block the deal. 

The second category is anticompetitive conduct. We investigate and, where appropriate, litigate against companies engaging in anticompetitive conduct.

How has PHC prepared you for your role?

PHC gave me a very solid academic foundation for law school and, ultimately, for life. Classes from then-Professor Robert Stacey and Dr. Mark Mitchell (among others) were formative in learning how to think. Debate and moot court allowed me to hone skills that are instrumental in my everyday practice.

How do you integrate your faith into your work? 

My faith is fully integrated into my work in this sense: I'm participating in God's creation in helping to promote (in very small ways) the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. As a lawyer, I help contribute to the rule of law, which is essential to a just, orderly, and peaceful society. And specifically as an antitrust lawyer, I help contribute to well-functioning markets, which are essential to a just and prosperous society. These, in turn, contribute to necessary, if not sufficient, conditions for human flourishing.

Describe the career trajectory as a lawyer in D.C.

My career trajectory has been relatively straightforward for a DC-based lawyer. After I graduated from Patrick Henry, I went to Georgetown for law school, and then I started as an associate in Big Law. When I was a senior associate at a large law firm, I lateraled to the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. After about five years at the DOJ, I went back to a large law firm as a partner. After the election, I had the opportunity to take this role at the FTC. (At the federal level, antitrust enforcement is split between the Antitrust Division at the DOJ and the Bureau of Competition at the FTC.)

Was it what I expected? Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that I wanted to pursue law, including a mix of private practice and public service. No, in the sense that I didn't realize I would be interested in antitrust law until I took a class as a second-year law student, and I didn't focus on antitrust law to the exclusion of all other areas of law until I was a mid-level associate. My career has been marked by hard work and serendipity. I didn't know what exact opportunities I would have, but I tried to make the most of them when I had the chance.

Any more life updates?

I married my PHC sweetheart when I was a second-year law student. We now have four children and are very active in our local church and our older children's wonderful Christian school.

Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.