Prof. Richard Painter Quoted in New York Times About Ethics Investigation of FDA Official

Professor Richard Painter, S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law, was quoted in the New York Times about whether the top federal regulator for medical devices like pacemakers and artificial hips acted ethically in work that overlapped with that of his wife, a leading lawyer for device companies. Two members of Congress have asked an inspector general to investigate the actions of the Federal Drug Administration official, Dr. Jeffrey Shuren. In its investigation, the Times found several instances in which the couple’s work overlapped and could have posed conflicts of interest requiring Shuren’s recusal. The FDA acknowledged ethics violations, saying that Shuren should have stepped aside or sought approval to be involved in two matters to “avoid any potential appearance of bias.” Although Shuren signed an updated ethics agreement in 2017 that described how he tried to help the FDA oversee his pledge to sidestep matters involving clients of his wife’s law firm, Prof. Painter, a former government ethics lawyer, said he would not have signed off on the ethics agreement. He said Dr. Shuren was bound by ethics regulations and criminal laws to uphold trust in government and to keep officials from profiting from their roles. He said, “There ought to be an inspector general investigation. There’s a lot we don’t know here.”