Svetlana S. Gans

Svetlana S. Gans is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher where she helps clients navigate complex consumer protection (advertising, marketing, privacy, and right to repair) and competition related regulatory proceedings before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and other enforcement bodies, and provides strategic advice on related public policy issues. Svetlana is a frequent speaker on FTC policy and enforcement issues, including FTC rulemaking. She was also recently named as one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” and recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for her work in Antitrust Litigation (2025).

Svetlana previously served with distinction as Chief of Staff to Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen at the FTC. As the agency chief of staff, she managed and oversaw agency operations, including bureau and office heads reporting to the Chairman, a seven-member office staff, and an agency budget of over $300 million. She also served as the Acting Chairman’s key advisor on consumer protection and competition investigations and litigation, working with a diverse team of attorneys and economists to preserve competition and protect U.S. consumers. She created, executed, and oversaw several strategic initiatives for the agency, including the agency process reform, regulatory reform, and data security transparency initiatives. Previously, she had the unique experience of serving in both litigating bureaus of the FTC: the Bureau of Competition and the Bureau of Consumer Protection. After her impactful tenure at the FTC, Svetlana served as the Vice President & Associate General Counsel at NCTA, the Internet & Television Association, where she helped lead the association’s consumer protection and competition policy work.

Svetlana is active in the Federalist Society, and recently received the Federalist Society Practice Groups Division’s inaugural Volunteer of the Year Award for “the energy she has brought to the Executive Committee as Co-Chair [of the Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Practice Group] and the important impact she has made upon the Federalist Society’s antitrust programming over the past year.”

Svetlana is also involved in the ABA Antitrust Law Section (“Section”), currently serving as the Section’s Committee Officer. In that role, she oversees the operations of 28 Section substantive committees, including committees covering consumer protection, privacy, corporate counselling, and federal civil enforcement. Svetlana is a keen supporter of, and mentor to, law students and young lawyers interested in antitrust and consumer protection law. She helped create the Section’s Young Lawyer Representative Program, now in its 12^th year, and the Section’s Law Ambassador Program, each aimed at developing and promoting the next generation of consumer protection and competition attorneys.

Svetlana also serves on the Federal Communication Bar’s Executive Committee and as a co-chair of its Diversity Pipeline Program, an initiative designed to develop and promote underrepresented law students in the bar. She also serves on Gibson Dunn’s Professional Development Committee and is active with the WICT Network – an organization dedicated to developing women leaders in the media, entertainment, and technology industries.

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 articles include:

• SCOTUS Preview: Axon v. FTC, Federalist Society (October 8, 2022)
• FTC Launches Commercial Surveillance Rulemaking, Truth on the Market (August 17, 2022)
• The FTC Heads for Legal Trouble, Wall Street Journal (August 8, 2022)

Recent speaking engagements include:

• Moderator, Cost-Benefit Analysis in FTC Rulemaking, Regulatory Transparency Project (February 8, 2023)
• Moderator, FTC Rulemaking, Guidelines, and More, Mercatus Second Annual Antitrust Forum (January 26, 2023)
• Speaker, FTC Rulemaking, ABA Antitrust Law Section Fall Forum (November 14, 2022)
• Moderator, FTC Privacy Update, Privacy + Security Academy (November 4, 2022)
• Speaker, FTC’s Rulemaking Authority: Update Following Recent Developments, Concurrences (October 24, 2022)
• Speaker, The FTC’s Independence After Selia Law v. CFPB, The C. Boyden Gray Center (October 14, 2022)
• Speaker, Understanding FTC Rulemaking, Future of Antitrust Law, BYU (September 27, 2022)
• Speaker, Regulating Privacy: A Discussion About FTC Privacy Rulemaking, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University School of Law (September 7, 2022)
• Speaker, Is Antitrust Becoming HR’s Biggest Headache, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Antitrust Webcast (July 26, 2022)
• Speaker, Consumer Protection Year in Review, ABA Antitrust Law Section Spring Meeting (April 6, 2022)
• Moderator, Antitrust Forum: One Year of Biden Antitrust, Mercatus Antitrust Conference (Jan. 26, 2022)
• Moderator, Understanding FTC’s Penalty Offense Authority and Other Agency Developments, ABA Antitrust Law Section (Jan. 12, 2022)
• Speaker, FTC’s Revolution Through Rulemaking, Federalist Society Regulatory Transparency Project (November 2, 2021)
• Moderator, The FTC in the Current Administration: Buckle Your Seatbelts, Federalist Society (October 27, 2021)
• Speaker, Consumer Protection and Privacy Cases That Matter, ABA Antitrust Law Section Consumer Protection Conference (July 12, 2021)
• Session Leader and Moderator, The Future of FTC Rulemaking, Federalist Society Chatham Program (June 9, 2021)
• Moderator, Unleashing Your Superpowers: Women’s Professional Development Series, ABA Antitrust Law Section (May 14, 2021)
• Moderator, Consumer Protection Priorities in the Biden Administration, Regulatory and Enforcement Priorities in 2021, Federal Communications Bar Association (April 26, 2021)
• Moderator, Fireside Chat with Bilal Sayyed, former FTC Director, Office of Policy Planning, Federalist Society (February 22, 2021)
• Moderator, Cultivating Women’s Leadership on Corporate Boards, Federal Communications Bar Association (January 29, 2021)
• Interviewer, Fireside Chat with FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips: The House Judiciary Antitrust Staff Report, Federalist Society (November 18, 2020)
• Moderator, The Evolving Privacy Landscape: The Next Steps on the Federal Front, Industry Perspectives, Federal Communications Bar Association (November 15, 2020)
• Speaker, Data Privacy in the New Decade: Consumer Rights, Platform Regulation, and Enforcement Mechanisms, FCBA (October 26, 2020)
• Moderator, Implications of Data Portability: A Consumer Protection Tool or Burden? Regulatory Transparency Project (October 5, 2020)
• Moderator, FTC Rulemaking: Underutilized Tool or National Nanny Renewed?, Federalist Society (July 8, 2020)
• Moderator, Deep Dive: FTC Remedial Authority, Federalist Society (June 29, 2020)
• Moderator, Nascent Competition Analysis, Federalist Society Chatham House (June 10, 2020)
• Speaker, FTC “Unfair Methods of Competition” Rulemaking: Pros, Cons, and Process, Federalist Society (June 8, 2020)
• Interviewer, Fireside Chat, Hot Topics with FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson, Federalist Society (May 18, 2020)
• Speaker, FTC Fundamentals and Hot Topics for Comms. Lawyers, FCBA (March 4, 2020)
• Moderator, Be Fearless: Women Leading Washington, WICT DC/Baltimore Chapter (February 27, 2020)
• Speaker, Trade Association Careers, Antitrust Section (February 2020)
• Moderator, Women Leading Together (Panel and Table Discussion), FCBA Inaugural Women’s Summit (Jan. 29, 2020)
• Speaker, Regulatory Oversight of Technology Companies, PLI 37^thAnnual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation (December 10, 2019)
• Speaker, Protecting Children Online, FOSI 2019 Annual Conference (November 21, 2019)
• Speaker and Moderator, 2019 Antitrust Fall Forum Tech Summit: A Competitive Future (November 18, 2019)
• Moderator, Deep Dive Episode 76 – FTC’s 21^stCentury Hearings, Federalist Society, Regulatory Transparency Project’s Fourth Branch Podcast (October 28, 2019)
• Moderator, FTC 13(b) Authority – Powers, Process & Suggestions for Reform (October 18, 2019)
• Moderator, FTC’s 21^stCentury Hearings: Paving the Way for Principles and Guidance, Federalist Society (October 4, 2019)
• Speaker, Antitrust in the Digital Age, Federalist Society (October 2019)
• Speaker, FTC & DOJ Transition Team: TPI Aspen Breakout Session, TPI Aspen (August 19, 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 10, 2019)
• Moderator, Toward a New Baseline Privacy Law: Harmonizing the GDPR, California, and the FTC, Privacy + Security Forum (April 5, 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 3-4 2019)
• Interviewer, Fireside Chat with FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson, Federal Trade Commission, Federalist Society (March 6, 2019)
• Speaker, Know Yourself: Networking in the Digital Age, WICT DC/Baltimore Chapter (February 21, 2019)

Capabilities

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