July 30, 2021
Securities Lawyers Are Playing “Musical Chairs”
Between news of salary wars, breathless recruiter messages and celebratory LinkedIn announcements, you’ve probably gathered that it’s a hot job market – and congrats to all of our readers who are taking this moment to advance and/or “right-size” their careers! This Think Advisor article says that the SEC hasn’t been immune from the attrition that many of us are facing. It also suggests that the aggressive enforcement environment that I blogged about earlier this week could also be contributing to turnover, at least in that particular Division.
According to the article, the reason for that is two-fold. First, departures are common in times of transition & leadership changes – and there have been a lot of changes at the Commission this year. Second, the Enforcement Division’s initiatives are creating high demand for litigators, which means firms are trying to recruit Staffers. Ironically, that means that the very initiatives that are creating this demand could leave the Staff short-staffed on its cases.
As we all know, SEC Chair Gary Gensler also has an ambitious agenda. That means he not only plans to fill open roles, but also wants to add even more hard workers to the SEC’s roster – in Enforcement and elsewhere. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Gensler is potentially counting on adding more Staff that will get behind his vision of a watchdog with sharper teeth. In his FY 2022 budget request, Gensler asked for nine additional positions in the enforcement division and in total wants to raise staff from its current 1,316 to 1,330.
In testimony in front of a House appropriations subcommittee on May 26, Gensler said enforcement in 2020 had 6% fewer staff on board than it did in 2016.
Don’t forget to check out our free “Jobs Board” if you’re hiring or looking…and let us know if it helps you find a match!
– Liz Dunshee