The seal of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can be seen at its headquarters in Washington, DC, USA.
Andrew Kelly Reuter
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has named Gibson Dunn attorney and former agency official David Woodcock as its next enforcement director after the regulator’s top law enforcement officer abruptly resigned last month.
Woodcock, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Dallas, Texas, will join the SEC starting May 4 to lead a division of more than 1,000 people, according to an SEC statement. He will replace Margaret Ryan, who resigned after just six months in office after clashing with agency leaders over the direction of the enforcement program, Reuters previously reported.
Reuters news agency first reported Woodcock’s appointment.
The SEC said Mr. Woodcock was a longtime securities attorney who led the SEC’s regional office in Fort Worth, Texas, from 2011 to 2015, where he helped establish a task force aimed at rooting out accounting and financial reporting fraud.
Mr. Woodcock is well known to the SEC staff both for his work with the SEC and for his defense of clients in SEC investigations. After leaving his previous job at the SEC, Mr. Woodcock worked at Jones Day & Co. and ExxonMobil before joining Gibson & Dunn, where he co-chairs the firm’s securities enforcement practice group, according to his online profile.
“It is my responsibility to lead the department with the highest level of professionalism and rigor as we execute my chairman’s vision and ensure the health of our financial markets,” Woodcock said in a statement.
FILE: David Woodcock at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Fort Worth Regional Office on June 28, 2012 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Mike Stone | Reuters
Two sources told Reuters he was considered for the role last year. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins ultimately nominated Ryan, a conservative military judge with little experience in securities law. Mr. Ryan wanted to be more aggressive in prosecuting fraud and other wrongdoing, including in cases surrounding the president, but he faced resistance from Mr. Atkins and other top Republican political appointees, according to Reuters.
The SEC’s enforcement arm, the nation’s top market regulator, has been hit by layoffs and reorganization under President Donald Trump’s second administration. About 18% of the SEC’s enforcement staff left in the fiscal year that ended in September, according to a recent government report.
Under the Trump administration, the SEC overhauled its enforcement program and dismissed numerous high-profile cases against crypto companies, including: coinbase Like Binance, it has shied away from large corporate lawsuits with stiff penalties.
“The Enforcement Division has made a significant course correction, restoring Congress’s intent by prioritizing cases that provide meaningful investor protections and strengthen market integrity,” SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said in a statement.
The SEC’s changing attitude toward enforcement has contributed to the decline in activity, with the SEC bringing more than 20% fewer actions in fiscal year 2025 than the previous year.
