Paton was appointed Standing Junior Counsel to the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer in 1979, and to the Office of Fair Trading in 1981.
From 2000–05 he was Director General/Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator.
For two years from 1984, he was seconded to the Office of Fair Trading before returning to the FCO in December 1986 (Defence Department).
My Fair Lady | Microsoft Office | Home Office | War Office | The Office | Foreign and Commonwealth Office | United States Patent and Trademark Office | Office of the Inspector General | Office of Naval Research | Office of Strategic Services | 1939 New York World's Fair | The Office (U.S. TV series) | Cabinet Office | Oval Office | Intel International Science and Engineering Fair | Post Office Protocol | World's Fair | Office of Naval Intelligence | General Post Office | Colonial Office | United States Post Office Department | Trading Spaces | Met Office | 1964 New York World's Fair | The Office (UK TV series) | Office of Management and Budget | Office Depot | fair use | Prime Minister's Office | Office of the Secretary of Defense |
In the United Kingdom third-party collection agencies that pursue debts regulated by the Consumer Credit Act must hold a Consumer Credit Licence and work within the framework of the 2003 fair debt collection guidance; licences are issued and regulated by the Office of Fair Trading.
Under the Fair Trading Act 1973 the Commission became, from 1 November 1973, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, with wider powers to deal with references either from the Office of Fair Trading or from the Department of Trade and Industry.
Woolman served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Office of Fair Trading from 1991 to 1995, to the Procurement Executive of the Ministry of Defence from 1991 to 1995, and to the Inland Revenue from 1996 to 1998.