Yesterday, the SEC announced the appointment of a new Director of the Division of Enforcement, following the abrupt departure of Meg Ryan last month. The new Director will be David Woodcock, who is currently a partner in the Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he serves as chair of the firm’s Securities Enforcement Practice Group. The announcement notes:

Mr. Woodcock is a widely recognized securities and governance attorney who returns to the Commission after serving as Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office from 2011 to 2015. During his prior SEC tenure, Mr. Woodcock led Enforcement and Examinations Division lawyers, accountants, and examiners, oversaw investigations in nearly every major area of the SEC’s enforcement program, served as a member of the Enforcement Advisory Committee, and created and served as Chair of the SEC’s cross-office and cross-division Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force, which was designed to enhance the SEC’s detection and prosecution of violations involving accounting and false financial statements.

Most recently, Mr. Woodcock’s practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher focused on regulatory enforcement, internal investigations, and corporate governance. Previously, he served as a senior in-house corporate attorney at Exxon Mobil Corporation. Mr. Woodcock is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law, where he has taught for more than a decade on securities, ethics, and compliance.

The SEC’s announcement indicates that Sam Waldon will continue to serve as Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement until David Woodcock starts on May 4.

– Dave Lynn