David Scheffman is a noted scholar with years of experience in high-level government positions.

For many years, he taught business strategy and marketing courses to MBAs, executive MBAs, and business executives. He also taught courses on economic theory and econometrics to PhD students in economics. He has worked as a business consultant, expert witness, and litigation and regulatory consultant in a variety of matters for companies and attorneys.

Dr. Scheffman has testified in jury and bench trials in federal, state, and administrative proceedings, in arbitrations, in other countries, and before Congress and state legislatures.

He was the expert for Whole Foods in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) challenge of Whole Foods acquisition of Wild Oats. He was cited numerous times in the decision. He was also the expert for the defendant insurance brokers in a class action in which Marsh McLennan was the lead defendant. Recently, he was the expert for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in a case brought by the US Department of Justice that has been continued by Aetna.

As an expert witness and regulatory and litigation consultant, Dr. Scheffman has worked on matters involving antitrust, mergers and joint ventures, class certification, RP, complex business litigation (marketing practices, contracts, torts, management practices, etc.), damages, and intellectual property (patents, copyrights, and trade secrets). He has also been an expert in matters that involved Section 5 of the FTC Act. He has testified as an expert in economics, econometrics, antitrust, damages, business strategy and management, marketing, and advertising and consumer behavior. He has presented to US federal and state, Canadian, and European government agencies. He has experience with industries including manufacturing, energy, services, consumer products, healthcare, defense, media, retailing, and distribution.

Dr. Scheffman has over twelve years of experience in a number of senior positions at the FTC (1979–88, 2001–3). He was director of the Bureau of Economics (the head economist at the FTC) from 1985 to 1988 and 2001 to 2003. The FTC Bureau of Economics website identifies a number of notable achievements under his leadership. Dr. Scheffman has also served in many positions in the leadership of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association, including as a member of the Council of the Section.

Dr. Scheffman is recognized expert in the area of industrial organization and antitrust economics (among others), having authored several important articles and books on topics such as monopolization, vertical restraints, market definition, merger analyses, and barriers to entry. He has also written on, taught, and consulted on issues involving business strategy, marketing, pricing, distribution, and intellectual property.

Dr. Scheffman taught at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, where he was a chaired professor from 1989 until 1998, and taught as an adjunct professor until 2011. He won faculty-wide teaching awards in 2002 and 2006. He created and taught the Business Strategy curriculum at the Owen School and continues to teach a course on business strategy in the Executive MBA program, and he has won a teaching award in this program. He has also taught MBA courses at the Owen School on marketing, distribution, pricing, and the management and valuation of intellectual property.

Dr. Scheffman has taught business strategy in the Executive MBA program at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He has also taught PhD-level courses on economic theory and econometrics. Finally, he taught Statistics for Lawyers at Georgetown University Law Center.

Areas of Expertise

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PhD, Economics

University of Minnesota
BA (magna cum laude)

Recognition

Who’s Who Legal: Global Leader

  • Competition Economists 2020
  • Competition Economists 2019

“David Scheffman is revered for his strong background in competition econometrics and damages evaluation.”

Executive MBA Professor of the Year (twice)
Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University