FTC has, in its probe against Google, hired Beth Wilkinson though the attorney has very little anti-trust experience. However, what ruled in favor of the recruitment is Wilkinson's tenacity and killer instinct as a really tough litigator. She is credited with sending Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to the death chamber and of successfully defending Big Tobacco against lawsuits by smokers. Hiring Wilkinson is a clear signal that the time has come for FTC to prepare a lawsuit against Google.
Some analysts have opined that hiring Wilkinson might be a ploy to leverage her reputation and spur Google into a settlement rather than face her in court.
Thomas Rosch, the FTC Commissioner had practiced law together with Wilkinson a decade ago and says he was impressed with her determination in her first anti-trust case. Wilkinson is also known for assisting the U.S. government case against former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.
However, Wilkinson is not entirely unfamiliar with financial and regulatory matters and had previously worked in the housing finance agency Fannie Mae, from where she was removed when the government took control of the company.
The former head of litigation for Altria, William Ohlemeyer who had hired Wilkinson to defend Philip Morris, described her as “the kind who could grab your arm and twist your arm behind your back until you say ‘no'.”
Wilkinson is also a juggler, and a mother of three. Her husband is NBC newsman David Gregory.
In the sensational McVeigh case, Wilkinson convinced the court to use the death penalty because she said the convicted had committed “the crime that the death penalty was designed for.”
She told the jury, “It's difficult to contemplate how the murder of 168 individuals with families and friends, churches, hobbies, volunteer activities and interests would not be enough in and of itself to warrant the death penalty for the individual responsible.”
However, Stephen Jones, the defense attorney for the Oklahoma bomber opined about Wilkinson, “I found her evasive and disingenuous … economical with truth.”
Ohlemeyer, who now works at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP recalled working with her and said, “As she became more familiar with our issues, it became obvious that she was a creative and critical thinker and was obviously very, very good at organizing evidence and explaining to people in a way that was easy to understand.”
Right now, in FTC, Wilkinson's role would be to find out whether Google uses its search engine to promote its own business like Google Places and travel sites in an unfair manner. The probe comes in the wake of competitor complaints that Google is using its search engine to corral users by ensuring that its own sites are listed first against keyword searches.
