Michael Pertschuk (January 12, 1933 – November 16, 2022) was an American attorney and advocate for consumer protection and public health.
Prior to joining the FTC, Pertschuk worked on Capitol Hill, where he was nicknamed the "101st Senator" owing to his influence in passing consumer protection legislation.
[1] Pertschuk served as chief counsel and staff director to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation from 1965 to 1976 and was instrumental in drafting the landmark legislation requiring cigarette warning labels and banning broadcast advertising of tobacco products.
[citation needed] Pertschuk earned his Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1954 and was a member of the Manuscript Society.
[3] From 1959 to 1960, Pertschuk was a law clerk for United States District Court Judge Gus J. Solomon, Portland, Oregon.
[8] From 1984 to 1985, he was a Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.[3] In 1985, Pertschuk was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.
They focus on Pertschuk's work in the arena of consumer protection and consist of two parts processed at different times.
Part II focuses primarily on his writing projects and his work in the field of public interest lobbying and as a tobacco control advocate in the years following his departure from the FTC.