Dennis Martin Devaney was sworn in yesterday as the 77th Commissioner of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC). Devaney, a Republican of Michigan, was appointed by President Clinton on January 3, 2001, for the period expiring at the end of the first session of the 107th Congress.

Devaney was of counsel in the Detroit office of Butzel Long and an Associate Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School before his appointment to the ITC. Prior to that, he had been of counsel in the Washington, DC, office of Winston & Strawn. He served as a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 1988-94, to which he was appointed by President Reagan and reappointed by President George Bush. Devaney has taught as a visiting professor of law at Boston University, Cornell University, and Tulane University Law Schools. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary, teaching courses in labor, international, and constitutional law. Devaney served as general counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority in 1988. From 1982-88, he was a member of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. From 1979-82, he was in private practice in Washington, DC. Prior to private practice, he was counsel to the Food Marketing Institute from 1977-79 and assistant general counsel for the U.S. Brewers Association from 1975-77.

Devaney holds a B.A. degree in history and an M.A. degree in political science from the University of Maryland, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. He resides in Detroit, Michigan. His two daughters live in Austin, TX.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding 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.