Attorneys said they wouldn’t be surprised if Clayton, once confirmed, selects a former prosecutor at Sullivan & Cromwell to head the enforcement division, much as White chose a Debevoise & Plimpton colleague, Andrew Ceresney, to lead the division.
Hunter and others noted that Clayton has a number of experienced partners at Sullivan & Cromwell who are former federal prosecutors, including husband and wife Samuel and Karen Seymour, and Steven Peikin, who previously served as head of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force in the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office. Several attorneys praised Peikin as being eminently qualified for the role.
But one top securities lawyer pondered whether Clayton would buck recent tradition and choose a civil litigator or SEC career staff member to lead the division.
via Securities Defense Bar Praises Trump SEC Pick | The American Lawyer