Business Blog
Fair…well, farewell
On what I’m declaring Lesley Fair Day, we’re celebrating someone who’s become an institution at this agency – for her policy of carpe podium, her mentorship of many an attorney at the agency and in state AG offices around the country, for the Business Blog…and so much more. As Lesley departs the 鶹ý Trade Commission after 37 years (no one would ever say Lesley is retiring), it’s a good time for a highlights reel. So grab your coffee and a Lesley cookie: here we go.
Nearly 14 years ago, this blog was launched with a David Vladeck-bylined post promising “…a minimum of ho-hum, a maximum of how-to, and as little yadda yadda yadda as a legal website can manage.” As regular readers can attest, Lesley, the primary author of hundreds of Business Blog posts (including many a post bylined by someone else…including (ahem) Bureau Directors), has delivered on that promise. In spades.
There’s hardly a BCP case, rule, or happening that hasn’t been covered on the FTC Business Blog. For cases big, huge, and much smaller, Lesley’s business posts explained not only what just happened, but what it meant: to the defendant, to businesses that would rather not become defendants, to the law. Sometimes to the tune of a slightly dubious ’90s rap song. A frequent refrain was, “you’ll want to read the complaint…” – but, really, we mainly wanted to know Professor Fair’s take on that particular case, how it related to other cases, and what it changed or reinforced about FTC case law. Rules and things like Data Spotlights got the Fair treatment, too: from a review of tenant screening and business obligations under the FCRA (to the tune of “YMCA”) to her patented business-people-are-consumers-too treatment of impersonator scams…and so much in between.
Puns, pop culture, songs from your past: there’s little Lesley wouldn’t do to set a hook to reel a reader in. And, while you might open that message to find out what, exactly, Steely Dan had to do with FTC accomplishments, you’d stay for the sharpest legal analysis anyone can find anywhere. A fact that the ABA Journal took note of when they named the FTC’s Business Blog to their Best Law Blog List. Note: not best government blog (though it unquestionably is). Best law blog. But, readers, you know that already: if you want to know what’s happening with BCP cases, rules, and activities, the best place to start is the Business Blog.
Business guidance got the same thorough, knowledgeable, plain language treatment. In fact, when one defendant said they’d never been given fair notice of a change in FTC policy, an FTC staffer noted that, in fact, “they got not only fair notice, they got Lesley Fair notice.” And anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of hearing Lesley speak (while being simultaneously grateful their own speech didn’t have to follow hers…) knows that there’s nobody better at engaging an audience while making plain FTC law. As recently as this summer, a class of newer FTC attorneys got lucky enough to have deposition training by Lesley, and will be all the better for it.
I could go on, as, probably, could you. But I’ll stop and say, on behalf of all the Bureau Directors before me who were lucky enough to be ghostwritten by Lesley; on behalf of case teams who got the pleasure of her fresh takes on their cases; on behalf of all the several hundred thousand readers of this blog: thank you. It’s been educational and enlightening and a very great pleasure.
Now, if you’re one of the many Steiger Fellows that Lesley placed, or you’re one of her former (or current) law students from Catholic University or George Washington University, or if you’ve been a colleague of hers during her 37 years at the FTC – or if you’re just one of her many adoring fans – drop a comment below. Share a story. Mention your favorite blog post. Join us in thanking Lesley for her spectacular career.
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It’s Lesley Fair Day at the FTC
September 16, 2024
Best wishes, Lesley!
I've loved Leslie for such a long time. No FTCer in my professional lifetime has matched her unfailing cheerfulness. It's really such a gift. And whenever I've learned that Leslie and I are speaking at the same conference -- well, that is such mixed news, because I know I'll so very much enjoy and learn from her presentation, but I also know it will be hard to measure up to the very high standard she always sets. The taxpayers always got so much more than their money's worth from Lesley Fair.
When you are a great servant of your people in this great country USA!
You deserve a great vacation award at the end.
Thank you very much for your service and have a blessed days of your great life.
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful send-off. Someone's got big shoes to fill.
As a former Steiger Fellow from Connecticut, I can say that Lesley's leadership, sense of humor, and expertise showed at every turn. I learned about the Business Blog as a law student, and always look forward to reading it. There is a great sense of humanity within it and a clear showing of the important work the FTC does. Happy Lesley Fair Day!
Nobody does it better! Congratulations, Lesley! And THANK YOU for everything!
The end of an era. I knew it had to end sometime, but it is still too soon. I always thought of Lesley as the voice of BCP: taking the mission seriously, without being self-important. You don't find that very frequently these days. Lesley and the business blog's irreverence will be missed. We hardly knew ye!
This is Fair Well, Not Goodbye. Ms. Fair's approach was crisp, accessible, rigorous, and humanizing. She benefitted a broader audience by being an approachable reference point for those who sought to do the right thing! We salute her! Well done to you, Ms. Fair!~
In her long and storied career, Lesley has also been a fantastic mentor both at the FTC and to her many law students who have had the privilege of her teaching. Before I joined the FTC, she was my appellate advocacy professor and taught me everything I needed to know about writing and arguing a winning brief. Of course, I remembered her when I joined the FTC about a decade later, but before I had a chance to reach out, she remembered me and offered her mentorship once again. And for the past several years, I've been delighted to read her blog posts, listen to her tireless advocacy for the American people, and work with her. Thank you, Lesley!!
Thank you for your many witty and punny articles over the years. Although I didn't get to read all of them, the ones I did read were always valuable and entertaining as I not only got to know the law a little better but I was also challenged to search the article for a pun, a play on words or a reference to a classic rock song. Fare thee well, Leslie Fair, you will be missed.
My heart is heavy but I am thrilled for you. You deserve every compliment and thank you you will receive. I have loved working with you. I will never forget when I was a law school clerk in DMP and went to your DAP presentation. It stayed with me and lured me back here a few years later to build my own career. You are everything great about the FTC wrapped up in a person and a storied career. Enjoy this step back. I wish you great fun, good health, and lots of perfect hair days. ;)
Congrats on your retirement Lesley, and thank you for bringing us this outstanding, insightful and instructive blog. It has been a must read for in-house counsel. Your wit and wisdom will be missed!
I've had the pleasure of hearing Leslie speak on numerous occasions and have enjoyed reading her witty & informative FTC articles. What a smart and talented attorney who provided so much value to so many for so many years!
I will miss Lesley's witty and spot-on posts. One of those things that makes the FTC a "special" place and not just another dull government agency.
Congratulations on your retirement, Lesley! I feel very lucky to have gotten to collaborate with you and Seena! Your dedication and creativity have made a lasting impact, and you'll be greatly missed. Enjoy retirement!
And so we bid farewell go not only the funniest FTC blogger, not only the funniest federal government blogger, but certainly the funniest and most entertaining government blogger of them all. Lesley Fair has been a beacon of humor, skill and dedication over the course of (or at least for parts of) two millennia. Lesley Fair Day is therefore a time to celebrate — and a time to feel bereft. May her spirit endure, and be emulated. Hats off to you, Lesley. And enormous thanks.
Leslie: You've truly been a role model for many, and the information you provided through your blogs was informative, practical, and timely. You served the Commission very very well, and we thank you for your meaningful public service. May you enjoy the coming years, and continue to smile from the soul.
Congratulations on your retirement, Lesley!
I’ll miss your witty posts.
I met Lesley only a couple years ago, when seeking guidance about lecturing on consumer protection issues. She was incredibly warm and generous with her deep consumer protection knowledge and experiences as a professor. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know her -- I'm in awe of her abilities and experience -- and am saddened to hear that the FTC will be losing her. Lesley, congratulations and thanks for your service! Best of luck in your next adventure!!
FTC = Fair To Consumers! And businesses, too.
Thanks for everything, Lesley!
We're going to miss you so much Lesley. It's been an honor working with you in DCBE. I'm going to miss all of your stories, and your help designing blog graphics too. :D
Hi Lesley, As I have told you many times, you are irreplaceable. We have worked together administering the ABA’s Steiger Fellowship Project for many years, and you have done so much to make the Project what it has now become for the law students, the law schools, and state consumer protection enforcers. You have also had a distinguished career as an adjunct law professor. One thing I learned early on in our relationship - never agree to speak immediately after Lesley. Your oral presentations are legendary. I’m so glad the FTC is honoring you today. All the best, Bob
Lesley Fair is the POAT!
I never wanted coral-colored shoes until I heard Lesley’s story about them. She is able to make anything relevant and understandable to the average person - despite likely being the smartest one in the room.
Lesley,
You're the hardest working woman in FTC-business, not to mention an incredible colleague, friend, mentor, author, and professor. We will miss your unfailing creativity (puns, metaphors, idioms, rhetorical devices, jokes, anagrams, similes, witticisms, song lyrics, cultural references, and everything in between and beyond). But most of all, we will miss you. Wishing you all the best in the adventures to come.
Sam - your tribute to Lesley is so complete and spot on that I have little to add, and think Lesley herself must have written it except she is far too modest to take on this particular ghosting assignment. And to Lesley: I loved every day I had the opportunity to work with you which, by my estimate, spanned more than 20 years. You made everything better: rulemakings, cases, the BCP Picnic, making fun of Lee Peeler, sharing reports from the Phoenix regional office. I know firsthand that it's bittersweet to leave a career in BCP, but 14 years after I took that step, I can promise you that you'll never let go of your loyalty and affection for its people and mission but you now have the opportunity to do everything you wish. Please drop into the Madison regional office.
Lesley it’s been an honor to work with you, such an exceptional and gifted person. You will be sorely missed! And I’m so glad I was able to experience your brilliance. All the best!
I join the long list of FTC attorneys who hold Lesley in the highest regard for all that she did for the FTC and all the creative energy she shared with her colleagues. It wouldn't have been the same without the communication talent she brought to her work and the joy we all felt working with her. We all wanted her take on how best to conduct our workshops and our communication with the public. Someone referred to her as "the voice of the FTC," and that description says it all. I wish you all the best, Lesley, in your new adventure.
Oh my. Terrible news. The earth trembles; the sky is falling, and the moon has taken flight. Is there an FTC without Leslie Fair? I am not sure, but I am deeply verklempt. And I fell sorry for Leslie's colleagues. We all know that Leslie has a rare talent -- explaining complicated stuff often with humor -- and no one in their right minds wants to be Leslie's successor. Maybe the FTC will survive, but it will be less fun.
Always looked forward to the emails from FTC because of the great write up’s from Leslie. Helped make it interesting enough to bring it up at work when topics were relevant to my industry.
Thanks to Leslie and enjoy a happy retirement! I hope you find time to publish some creative writing in your retirement.
Lesley Fair is a brilliant writer, public speaker and consumer advocate. She made the business blog what it is today. The FTC will not be the same without her. I am glad that I had the opportunity to work with her and wish her the best in the future!
It was an honor to have Lesley write blogs about cases that I worked on at the FTC. When I left the agency, I looked forward to seeing Lesley's business blog posts in my email in-box. The FTC's business blog is the primary means that so many FTC alumni use to keep up with all of the agency's good work. Thanks to Lesley, the blogs are consistently entertaining, clever, informative and fun! I wish Lesley a very happy well-deserved retirement!
What a fitting tribute to the amazing Lesley Fair. She was always a brilliant lawyer, prodigious worker and consumate professional, symbolized by her trudging through several feet of snow on her first official day at the FTC to do trial preparations - a day that the ftc was closed for a holiday and the federal government was closed for a snow day! But her true super power turned out to be communications. She has an unique ability to make an obscure alphabet agency with a complex mission both interesting and understandable to consumers, small businesses and the consumer protection bar. The Johnny Appleseed of FTC law, no venue was too remote as long as there was an audience. A consumer protection bus tour of the Midwest? Lesley was there. And no matter how lucid, humorous and fact packed her last presentation was, there was always a late night to update, tweak and personalize for the next audience. Consumers everywhere can thank Lesley for her work, the increased compliance that resulted directly from her wonderful work and for the outstanding work she did the advance to FTC's mission of ensuring a truthful , fair marketplace for all consumers. Plus we all got to laugh regularly when we read her columns.
Just a reader here -- and grateful for your public service Lesley! Happy trails for what's next!
As an advertising/marketing paralegal for many years at Microsoft and now HP, I've had the pleasure of hearing Lesley speak many times. You paid attention when she spoke, laughed a lot, but most importantly always took away knowledge that you could use. She will be missed and her shoes hard to fill.
One of the great honors of my FTC career is having spent over 30 years witnessing - and learning from - more than a fair bit of Fair wisdom and wit. I thoroughly enjoyed our service together as The Blurb Factory and I’m thankful for many years of camaraderie and friendship. Congratulations on a job so well done, on wrapping up this chapter, and on new beginnings. No goodbyes, just see you soon.
On behalf of educators everywhere, thank you for all you've done to share FTC's hard work with the public. You (and your blog posts) will be missed!
What a fitting tribute! Am I the only one who hears Lesley’s voice in my head when I read the Business Blog? I am forever grateful to you, Lesley, for your kindness and generosity in giving me opportunities with the ABA Antitrust Law Section – I know that’s how you treat everyone, but you have a gift of making people feel special. Wishing you the very best on your next adventure, Ms. Fair!
Hi Lesley, As the FTC will soon realize - you are irreplaceable! I have been privileged to call you my friend, and we have worked together to honor the memory of the late Chairman of the FTC, Janet Steiger, co-administering the ABA Antitrust Law Section Project which first began in 2005. Your contributions to the Project have been so consequential and I am deeply appreciative for all you have done for consumer protection enforcement, and I know that the law schools whose students have served as Steiger Fellows agree, as do both the students, themselves, as well as the state and territorial consumer protection agencies. Your career has been nothing short of amazing, including your decades as a law professor teaching what you know better than anyone. One thing I learned early on. Never agree to speak publicly if Lesley Fair is speaking before you. Your presentations are legendary. All the best to you. Bob
Lesley, you are and have been the epitome of what it means to be a public servant. Congratulations on a stellar career. May your future be so bright you have to wear shades! Every day should be Lesley Fair Day.
Yes- let’s all celebrate Lesley Fair for all she’s done, is and the joy she’s spread while teaching and sharing wisdom. Having had the pleasure of “doing panels” with Lesley, I have first hand experience with her sophisticated ad lib yet “on point” legal humor. She is a rock-star legend. Thank you Leslie for being such a great example of how to make a difference, an impact, well. Congratulations Lesley as you graduate to “Lesley Fair 2.0”.
Thanks for your words of wisdom and your wit! You'll be missed.
So very honored to have known and worked with Lesley (many years ago in DAP)! She is one of a kind! The staff at the FTC and all of the area law students, as well as the nation's consumers and businesses have been lucky for her guidance in all things FTC law for decades. Happy National Lesley Fair Day! And happy retirement - well deserved!
Oh how I'll miss you Leslie and your scary top ten lists... cheers to the next adventure!
I join the long list of FTC alums in thanking Lesley for her storied service to the agency, consumers, businesses, and, of course, her colleagues. From schooling us in advertising law basics to keeping us happy with her renowned chocolate chip cookies to regaling us with tales of her FTC capers (the hostage story - IYKYK - is a classic), Lesley exemplifies what makes the FTC such a special place. Thanks, too, Sam, for capturing Lesley's contributions to the FTC and to the cause of clear (and entertaining) communications!
A very happy Lesley Fair day to all! Thank you for everything, Lesley; it's been a pleasure to learn from you and be your colleague, and I can't wait to hear what amazing things you take on next. Sending the best of best wishes your way.
A great day, indeed.
We are all in debt to Lesley for her contributions to the FTC.
Her plate was always full, and yet she made time for everyone. Whenever I had a vague recollection of the facts of a certain FTC case but could not remember its name, my first call was to Lesley, and, invariably, she would identify it immediately.
But far more important to me than to have had Lesley as a colleague is to have had Lesley as a friend. And although we may no longer be the former, we will always be the latter.
Congratulations and all the best, Ms. Fair. And, as always, Go Irish.
Although I’ve heard she was a helluva lawyer, the best hiring decision was bringing Lesley into DCBE! Thank you, Lesley, for creating the Business blog, for creating and staffing so many amazing business education programs, and for making sooooooo many people look so good. I’m out of the country for a few weeks, and will look forward to celebrating you and your unique contributions to the FTC when I return! Congratulations to you on a run that ranks up there with Hamilton, Les Miz, and Phantom. All best to you, My Fair lady!
Lesley,
Thank you for clearly, concisely and humorously giving us clear communication on important issues. It was always a pleasure to read your words and I looked forward to any and all of your missives. Never was there a word out of place. It was a great pleasure to read what you wrote. Please - keep on writing!
Best regards for your next adventure.
Kindly, Helen MacKenzie
Lesley! It's been so great to work with you all these years. I've learned so much from you and have always admired not only your legal knowledge and ability to write about it in an informative and interesting way, but your graphic design skills to boot! Best of luck in your next adventures!