Corporate Governance

Reforming the SEC: A List of the Directors of the Division of Enforcement

By J. Robert Brown

We are discussing reform at the SEC.  The prior post discussed the appointment of Robert Khuzami, only the second head of the Division of Enforcement to have no direct experience inside the Division.  We thought it would be appropriate to provide a list of all of the Division Directors and a bit of information about their background before they joined the Commission.  

Robert Khuzami  2009 - present

• Division Director at age 52, Robert Khuzami served as a federal prosecutor for 11 years with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. He served as General Counsel for the Americas at Deutsche Bank AG before coming to the Commission.  For more information, go here.

Linda C. Thomsen 2005 – 2009

• Division Director at age 50, Linda Thomsen joined the Commission's staff in 1995 as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel. In 1997, Thomsen was named Assistant Director of the Division of Enforcement, and in 2000, she became Associate Director of the division. She became Deputy Director in January 2002.  For more, go here.

Stephen M. Cutler 2001 – 2005

• Stephen Cutler joined the Commission in January 1999 as the Deputy Director of the Enforcement Division. Previously, he had been with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.  For more, go here.

Richard H. Walker 1998 – 2001

• Richard Walker joined the Commission in 1991 and, before becoming the Director of the Division, served at the General Counsel for two years, and as the Director of the Commission's Northeast Regional Office for four years.  For more information, go here.

William R. McLucas 1990 – 1997

• William McLucas graduated from Temple Law School in 1975 and joined the Commission in 1977.  He is the longest serving director of the Division of Enforcement.  For more information, go here.

Gary G. Lynch 1985 – 1989

• Division Director at age 34, Gary Lynch joined the SEC in 1974, one year after graduating from law school. He had been Associate Director for three years before the unexpected departure of John Fedders.  For more information, go here.

John M. Fedders 1981 – 1984

• John Fedders had been a partner at Arnold & Porter before becoming Division Director in 1981.  For more information, go here. 

Stanley Sporkin, 1974 – 1981

• Stanely Sporkin graduated from Yale Law School in 1957 and, after judicial clerkships and a brief sojourn into private practice, joined the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1961, beginning a 20 year career.  For more information, go here.

 Irving M. Pollack, 1972 – 1973

• A graduate of Brooklyn Law School (class of '42), Irving Pollack joined the SEC in 1946 after a stint in the military and private practice.  Over his lengthy career, he held a series of prominent positions, including director of the Division of Trading Markets and director of the newly created Division of Enforcement.  He also served a six year term as commissioner.  For more information, go here.

Full post as published by The Race to the Bottom on September 30, 2009 (boomark / email).