🔵Three Former SEC Legal Counsels: SEC Enforcement Under Paul Atkins Won't Disappear

DeThings, April 28th – According to Fortune magazine, the new Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, was sworn in last week. Experts say that the SEC's rule-making agenda may undergo major changes, but Atkins has a tough stance on enforcement. Three former SEC General Counsels believe that while the focus of enforcement may change after he takes office, it will not deviate completely.

Melissa Hodgman, a partner at Fried Frank and a former senior SEC enforcement official, predicts that SEC enforcement under Atkins will not slacken, with fraud (including accounting and disclosure fraud) and insider trading being the focus. Regulators can use social media and AI to efficiently track insider trading, and the enforcement team will pay close attention. Former General Counsel Robert Stebbins said that enforcement will return to the focus of Jay Clayton's tenure, focusing on the "mass market" or retail investors, and will not enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act this time. Megan Barbaro, General Counsel during the terms of Dan Berkovitz and Gary Gensler, both stated that the SEC will pay more attention to cases that actually harm investors, reduce corporate fines, reduce enforcement of procedural violations, and focus on fraud. Former Chairman Gary Gensler has been widely criticized for his rule-making agenda. The three former chief lawyers expect that Atkins will address the regulatory challenges of cryptocurrency and may also expand private market access and raise the threshold for accredited investors.