Abigail "Gail" Slater (''née'' Conlon; born December 10, 1971) is an Irish-born American lawyer and political advisor who is the

United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

for the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

's Antitrust Division.

Early life

Slater is from

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is a village in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown county southeast of Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became a port in the Middle Ages. According to chronicler John Clyn (c.1286–c.1349), it was one of the port ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, in Ireland. She earned law a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

in 1993 (with a year abroad at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

) and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

in 1996 from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, a

Master of Jurisprudence Master of Jurisprudence can go by several names including a Master in Law Master of Science in Law, Master's in Legal Studies, Master of Science in Legal Studies, Juris Master, or Master of Studies in Law. Offered within United States The ...

from

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

in 1995, and her

Legal Practice Course The Legal Practice Course (LPC)also known as the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practiceis a postgraduate course and the final educational stage for becoming a solicitor in England, Wales and Australia (where it is commonly known as "practical ...

from the College of Law, Guildford in 1997. She moved to the U.S. in 2003 and holds dual citizenship.https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/slater_sjq.pdf

Career

Slater started her career with the British law firm Freshfields (now

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, or FBD) is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the so-called " Magic Circle". The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europ ...

). She focused on

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

cases and was often sent to the U.S. as a liaison. She met her future husband, Lindsay Slater, on one of her trips to the U.S. and later moved there, leaving her job at Freshfields to become a staff attorney for the U.S.

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

(FTC) in 2004. At the FTC, she worked on several cases to block major mergers, including one in which

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from Hydrogenated fat, hydrogenated fats and artificia ...

was attempting to acquire

Wild Oats Markets Wild Oats Marketplace (Legal name (business), registered as Wild Oats Marketing, LLC) is a producer of Natural foods, natural and Organic food, organic foods, food distributed through partnerships in the United States. Founded in 1987 in Boul ...

, as well as a case involving the pharmaceutical company

Cephalon Cephalon, Inc. was an American biopharmaceutical company co-founded in 1987 by pharmacologist Frank Baldino Jr., Frank Baldino, Jr., neuroscientist Michael Lewis, and organic chemist James C. Kauer—all three former scientists with the DuPont ...

. In 2011, she became the FTC attorney advisor to commissioner

Julie Brill Julie Simone Brill (born March 12, 1959) is an American lawyer who is Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Vice President for Global Privacy, Safety and Regulatory Affairs at Microsoft. Prior to her role at Microsoft, Brill was nominated by Pres ...

. Slater left the FTC in 2014, to become the vice-president for legal and regulatory policy for the

Internet Association The Internet Association (IA) was an American lobbying group based in Washington, D.C., which represented companies involved in the Internet. It was founded in 2012 by Michael Beckerman and several companies, including Google, Amazon, eBay, and Fa ...

, a lobbying group, later becoming general counsel. After four years there, she was appointed in February 2018 to the administration of President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

as special assistant to the president for technology, telecommunications and cybersecurity. After a year in the Trump administration, Slater left to become the senior vice president for policy and strategy at

Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (commonly referred to as Fox Corp or simply Fox) is an American multinational mass media company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, with offices also in Burbank, Cali ...

. She later became a vice president and deputy general counsel for

Roku, Inc. Roku, Inc. ( ) is an American public company. Founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, it produces streaming players and TVs, distributes streaming services and operates an ad business on its platform. Roku is the U.S. market leader in streaming ...

In 2024, Slater became a policy advisor for vice presidential candidate and later Vice President-elect

JD Vance James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August2, 1984) is an American politician, author, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran who is the 50th vice president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...

. When Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Slater became an advisor for his transition team on antitrust policy. On December 4, 2024, Trump nominated her to serve as

Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

for the

Antitrust Division. On March 11, 2025, she was confirmed by the Senate, 78-19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Gail 1971 births Living people People from Dalkey 21st-century Irish lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Antitrust lawyers Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Alumni of University College Dublin Federal Trade Commission personnel First Trump administration personnel Second Trump administration personnel United States assistant attorneys general for the Antitrust Division Irish emigrants to the United States