December 21, 2021
SEC Names a New Chief Administrative Law Judge
Recently, the SEC announced that it had named James Grimes as the agency’s new Chief Administrative Law Judge. Judge Grimes succeeds Brenda Murray, who retired in 2019 after 25 years of service as the SEC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge.
The SEC’s administrative law judges conduct hearings, issue initial decisions, and adjudicate matters in administrative proceedings before the agency. I point this out because I got my start at the SEC serving as a law clerk in the Office of Administrative Law Judges. I was hired by Judge Murray and had the great opportunity to work with her and all of the judges in the office at that time in the mid-1990s. I was fortunate that the Office of Administrative Judges was on the same floor as several Corp Fin review offices, and I met Shelley Parratt in the hallway (at the time, Shelley was an Assistant Director running the review office that handled real estate and a number of other industries). That chance meeting with Shelley led to my first job in Corp Fin, and the rest, as they say, was history. It just goes to show how one opportunity can lead to another, and a chance meeting can sometimes change the course of your career!
– Dave Lynn