Part of the terms of the Department of Justice anti-trust lawsuit against Apple and several major publishers included the establishment of an external watchdog to monitor Apple’s actions, especially where business deals with publishers are concerned. Today, the attorney who will serve in that capacity was named, one of two choices proposed for the role by the DoJ.
Michael Bromwich, an attorney with the Washington, DC-based Goodwin Proctor law firm, is a former inspector general of the US Justice Department and specializes in compliance and internal oversight; he also founded and runs the Bromwich Group, a consulting firm for these types of issues. Bromwich received a fair amount of attention for his role as the oversight attorney in charge of the US offshore drilling practices in the wake of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a position he was appointed to by President Obama, and before that for being part of the legal team against Lt. Col. Oliver North in the 1980s.
According to a statement on his appointment, Bromwich said, “I am deeply honored to have been selected by the court to serve as the monitor in this matter.”
While Apple is appealing the September 6th ruling of Judge Denise Cote, which outlined the types of agreements Apple can enter into now as a result of the ebook price fixing allegations and subsequent ruling, the tech giant had no comment on the appointment of Bromwich to oversee their business deals.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.