SEC’s Clayton Names Law Firm Colleague as Co-Enforcement Chief

By Benjamin Bain, Bloomberg News

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton on Thursday named Steven Peikin and Stephanie Avakian co-directors of the agency’s enforcement division, filling the most prominent staff opening at the Wall Street regulator.

Peikin, a former federal prosecutor, worked with Clayton at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where he represented clients including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Barclays Plc as managing director of the law firm’s criminal defense and investigations group. Elevating Avakian, who has been the enforcement unit’s acting director, may ease some Democrats’ concerns that SEC will be less aggressive in fighting abuses by financial ...