Wayne Carlin, Northeast Regional Director, To Leave Commission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2003-177

Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2003 -- Wayne M. Carlin, Regional Director of the Commission's Northeast Regional Office, announced today that he will leave the Commission in January to become a partner in the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Carlin, 44, has served as Regional Director since October 2000, and previously held various positions on the enforcement staff of the Northeast Regional Office.

As Regional Director, Carlin has been responsible for the Commission's enforcement and examination programs in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Under Carlin's leadership, the Northeast Regional Office has brought many significant cases covering the full range of the Commission's enforcement program, including:

• numerous accounting fraud and financial reporting cases, including matters involving Rite Aid, Adelphia, Symbol Technologies, Aurora Foods, Edison Schools, Manhattan Bagel, Candie's, Rent-Way, Schick Technologies and Oxford Health;
   
• the first case involving hot IPO allocation practices, against Credit Suisse First Boston;
   
• two of the first matters under Regulation FD, involving Raytheon and Motorola;
   
• the first case against an insurance company for crafting an insurance policy to facilitate an accounting fraud, in which American International Group was charged;
   
• the first case arising from improper use of pro forma reporting in a press release, against Trump Hotels;
   
• the research analyst conflict case against Lehman Brothers;
   
• charges against Baron Capital for improper marking-the-close trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and a related failure-to-supervise case against Spear, Leeds & Kellogg;
   
• the ImClone insider trading cases; and
   
• an auditor independence case against PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Carlin received the Chairman's Award for Excellence in December 2002 in recognition of his leadership in the wake of the destruction on Sept. 11, 2001, of the Northeast Regional Office, which had been located at 7 World Trade Center.

SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson said, "Wayne Carlin has served the Commission with distinction, participating in and leading Commission action in some of our most significant enforcement cases. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his dedication, commitment and service. I know that Commission staff and my fellow Commissioners join me in wishing him well in his future endeavors."

Stephen M. Cutler, Director of Enforcement, said, "Wayne Carlin is a spectacular lawyer and an outstanding public servant. His extraordinary intellect, his exceptional judgment and his vast knowledge of the securities laws and legal process have been great assets for the Northeast Regional Office and the Commission these past several years. Working alongside him has been a great privilege for me. I will miss his wise counsel and so will the Commission."

Carlin said, "During my eight years at the Commission, I have had the good fortune to go to work every day with people who exemplify the highest ideals of public service. We are now in the midst of a critical period for the public markets and the securities industry. My dedicated colleagues in the Northeast Regional Office and throughout the Commission have responded with probing intelligence, unflagging energy and an abiding sense of fairness and due process. It has been rewarding beyond measure to be a part of these efforts."

Carlin began his legal career in 1984 as an associate with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He was later a partner with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault. Carlin first joined the Commission in 1993. He left the staff in 1997 as an Assistant Regional Director to serve as Head of Regulatory Affairs at Lazard Freres & Co. Carlin returned to the Commission in September 1999 as Associate Regional Director.

Carlin is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.