WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - Three women lawyers at theU.S. Justice Department's antitrust division are on the shortlist to fill a Democratic vacancy on the Federal TradeCommission, according to sources knowledgeable about theprocess.
The FTC normally has five commissioners and no more thanthree can be from the same party. The four incumbents includetwo Democrats and two Republicans.
The candidates are said to include Leslie Overton, formerlya partner at Jones Day and now a deputy assistant attorneygeneral; Terrell McSweeny, formerly on Vice President JoeBiden's staff and now chief counsel for competition policy atthe antitrust division; and Jamillia Ferris, formerly atCovington & Burling LLP and now the chief of staff at theantitrust division, the sources said.
Two sources also said that Melissa Maxman, from the law firmCozen O'Connor, was also on the short list. Maxman, a litigatorwho has been at the firm four years, is a co-chair of CozenO'Connor's Antitrust Practice Group.
The best known of the three and most likely pick appears tobe Overton, who has reportedly been on the short list forprevious top antitrust positions.
Overton, at the American Bar Association's spring antitrustmeeting this month, brusquely rebutted suggestions that therewere conflicts between President Barack Obama's health reform,which urges efficiency, and antitrust enforcement, which canreject mergers that would reduce competition.
The FTC's main mission is the promotion of consumerprotection and the elimination and prevention ofanti-competitive business practices.
The current vacancy was created when Edith Ramirez, a lawschool classmate of President Barack Obama, who was elevated tothe chairmanship after the departure of Jon Leibowitz inFebruary.
The commission's other Democrat is Julie Brill. Rounding outthe group are Republicans Maureen Ohlhausen and Joshua Wright.
McSweeny, Maxman, Overton and Ferris either declined commentor did not return telephone calls seeking comment. The FTC didnot immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
The commission is in the process of considering several keymergers, including the proposed Office Depot Inc deal tobuy rival OfficeMax Inc ; Tesoro Corp's purchaseof a BP Plc refinery in gas-price sensitive California;and television ratings company Nielsen Holdings NV planto buy Arbitron Inc, which dominates radio ratings.
In the case of a 2-2 vote, no action is taken on the FTC'svarious cases. This has created concern the commission could bedeadlocked until a fifth member is appointed.
The agency also works on online privacy issues, which canpit companies against consumers and has tackled intellectualproperty issues, including the problem of companies with patentportfolios filing frivolous infringement lawsuits.
Obama will nominate the commissioner, but the position doesrequire Senate confirmation.
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