Thomas Cohn advises clients on the legal and practical aspects of compliance with FTC and other federal and state consumer regulations and industry self-regulation programs, as well as representing clients during investigations and enforcement actions. His clients include a wide variety of online and offline advertisers and marketers, in many different subject matter areas. His practice covers all federal and state consumer protection and privacy laws and regulations, including newer ones such as the FTC's ID Theft Red Flags Rule.
Mr. Cohn draws on experience gained during his 17-year tenure at the FTC, where he was Regional Director and Assistant Regional Director for the Northeast Region, attorney in the Division of Marketing Practices, and legal advisor to the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
As FTC Northeast Regional Director, Mr. Cohn supervised all professional and support staff and led multi-agency enforcement efforts against various anticompetitive, unfair and/or deceptive practices. He was also responsible for numerous local and regional media and outreach efforts to educate consumers, business groups, and law enforcement agencies about how to detect and avoid fraud as well as how to comply with antitrust and consumer protection laws enforced by the FTC, such as the Telemarketing Sales Rule, regulations under CAN SPAM Act, Children's Online Privacy and Privacy Act, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and consumer credit statutes such as FDCPA, TILA, FCRA and FACTA.
Mr. Cohn also spent four years as Legal Advisor to the Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, where he reviewed law enforcement recommendations, Congressional testimony, and other matters for the Director.
He served five years as a staff attorney in the FTC's Division of Marketing Practices, where he litigated fraud and rule violation cases, coordinated test shoppings of funeral homes for compliance with the Funeral Rule, and played a key role in the development and implementation of the Funeral Rule Offenders' Program, an innovative, self-regulatory alternative to traditional law enforcement.
Mr. Cohn is a graduate of Yale College and Boston University School of Law, and is a member of the New York City Bar Consumer Affairs Committee and the New York State Bar Food, Drug & Cosmetic Law Section.