October 17, 2007
News Release 07-107
Contact: Peg O'Laughlin, 202-205-1819

Daniel R. Pearson, Chairman of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), announced today that Judge Theodore R. Essex has been named an Administrative Law Judge at the ITC. Essex will manage litigation, preside over evidentiary hearings, and make initial determinations in the agency's investigations involving unfair practices in import trade. These investigations most often involve allegations of patent, trademark, and copyright infringement.

Essex served as an Administrative Law Judge at the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals in Cleveland, Ohio, from November 2006 until his ITC appointment. He previously served as a consultant to the Compensation and Pension Service of the Department of Veterans' Affairs in Washington, DC, from 2005 to 2006.

From 1985 to 2005, Judge Essex served in a variety of positions with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), from which he retired in 2005. He was Chief of the General Torts Branch of AFLSA/JACT in Arlington, VA, from 2002-2005. He served as Chief of Aviation Law with the Air Education and Training Command, USAF, from 2000-2002; as Deputy Staff Judge Advocate with the Air Intelligence Agency, USAF, from 1999-2000; as Chief, Operations Law, USAF Headquarters in the United Kingdom from 1996-1999; as an Attorney-Adviser in the AFLEM Office of International Claims and Investment Disputes at the U.S. Department of State from 1995-1996; as a Staff Judge Advocate based in Norway from 1992-1995; as a Deputy Staff Judge Advocate based in the United Kingdom from 1990-1992; as a Circuit Defense Counsel for the USAF AL Legal Services Center from 1988-1990; as a Deputy Staff Judge Advocate based in Belgium from 1987-1988; as an Area Defense Counsel from 1986-1987; and as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate from 1985-1986.

Essex holds a juris doctor degree from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He holds an active law license in the state of Louisiana and is a registered solicitor in England and Wales.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that provides trade expertise to both the legislative and executive branches of government, determines the impact of imports on U.S. industries, and directs actions against certain unfair trade practices, such as patent, trademark, and copyright infringement.