Bruce Hoffman, who left Shearman & Sterling three years ago to become director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, has joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

“I’ve known the antitrust lawyers at Cleary for a long time,” Hoffman said. “Cleary has what is generally regarded as the best antitrust practice in the world. They have a very internationalized antitrust practice, and that matches the international nature of the field.”