SEC Names Anne K. Small as General Counsel

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Anne K. Small has been named General Counsel of the agency.

Ms. Small comes to the SEC from the White House Counsel’s Office where she has been serving as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President since October 2011.  She has advised on legal policy questions with a focus on economic issues.

Ms. Small previously worked at the SEC as Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Adjudication, helping to oversee enforcement matters, appellate cases, and adjudications.  She becomes the first woman to be named General Counsel of the SEC.

“I’m delighted that Annie will be returning to the agency at a time when our rule writing is in full swing and our enforcement program continues to pursue cases involving some of the most complex transactions,” said Mary Jo White, the SEC Chair.  “The Commission will benefit from her experience, judgment, and tremendous talent.”

Before entering government, Ms. Small worked at WilmerHale LLP, where she was a partner in the firm’s litigation department.  She was involved in commercial and securities litigation, a broad range of civil and criminal matters, and trial and appellate work.

Ms. Small said, “It is an honor to return to the Commission.  I am looking forward to working with the talented staff in the General Counsel’s Office and serving Chairman White and the other Commissioners in the agency’s efforts to protect investors.”

Ms. Small is expected to arrive at the agency soon and will succeed Geoffrey Aronow, who will become a senior counsel to the Chairman.  

“Even in his short stint as General Counsel, Geoff has proved himself to be a wise and insightful counselor to the Commission.  I am very pleased that he has agreed to stay on as a senior counsel in my office.  In that role, he will assist in navigating some of the more complex and difficult policy issues we must address,” said Chairman White.

Ms. Small began her law career as a law clerk for Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and for Justice Stephen G. Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court.  She received her J.D. in 2001 from Harvard Law School, where she was awarded the Sears Prize and served as President of the Harvard Law Review.  She earned her B.A. from Yale University in 1996.