Kelley Drye Achieves ​“D.C. Advertising Lawyer of the Year” Three-peat

For the third year in a row, Best Lawyers has named an attorney from Kelley Drye & Warren LLP the Washington, D.C. Advertising ​“Lawyer of the Year.” Partner William C. MacLeod is the recipient of the 2013 honor, which was previously held by partner Gonzalo E. Mon (2012) and partner John E. Villafranco (2011).

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their peers. Mr. MacLeod was named ​“Lawyer of the Year” after the tally of votes revealed his peers’ extraordinary respect for his abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

With a practice focused on advertising, privacy, and competition law, Mr. MacLeod’s notable cases include one of the largest judgments ever awarded in an advertising and antitrust case, the FTC’s first trial under the modern unfairness doctrine, and the FTC’s first preliminary injunction action in an ad-substantiation case.

Mr. MacLeod previously served as director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, which is the chief federal prosecutor of unfair and deceptive advertising. In this position, he also served as the U.S. delegate to a committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, where agency heads of Europe, Australia and Japan develop policies for financial regulations, product safety and international advertising. Mr. MacLeod also previously held positions as advisor to the assistant attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division; director of the FTC’s Chicago regional office; and attorney advisor to the FTC chairman.

In addition to Mr. MacLeod, the 2013 Best Lawyers guide recognizes five other Kelley Drye advertising law attorneys, including Mr. Mon and Mr. Villafranco, as well as partners Dana B. Rosenfeld and Christie Grymes Thompson. The attorneys were chosen for their outstanding reputations and excellence in legal work.