It has recently been announced that Gary Barnett, Executive Director of the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA), is leaving his important role in the trade group to join the Federal Trade Commission. His new role will be as Chief of Staff to the new Republican Commissioner, Andrew Ferguson. This change comes just a few years after Barnett took up the mantle at ILFA in 2021, delighting many with his leadership at the helm of the group representing the commercial litigation finance industry.
This transition period, however, seems to have been managed smoothly. ILFA’s former Executive Director, Shannon Campagna, will be stepping back into an interim role until a new permanent replacement is found. Reports suggest that the search for a new director is already in progress.
During his tenure, Barnett oversaw a body of 24 members representing the commercial legal finance industry. This evolving industry allows investors to fund the cost of lawsuits. In exchange, they receive a portion of any award that results from cases. In the year 2021 alone, ILFA spent $230,000 on federal lobbying, according to OpenSecrets.
Now at the FTC, Barnett will serve Commissioner Andrew Ferguson. This worthy public servant was most recently Solicitor General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Before that, he held an important position as chief counsel to Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).
Barnett’s impressive track record includes various positions at the Department of Justice under the Trump administration, where he concluded his tenure as senior counsel to the attorney general. His time at the ILFA was marked by significant achievements, ones that he says couldn’t have been accomplished without the support of the ILFA members.
The legal industry will certainly be keen to see what the future holds for the ILFA in this new chapter and the changes that may unfold at the FTC with Barnett’s appointment. Whatever the result, both the ILFA and FTC can surely anticipate great things in the near future.
For more details about Gary Barnett’s career transition, visit the original Bloomberg Law article here.