The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Elizabeth Murphy has been named an associate director in its Division of Corporation Finance.
For the past five years, Ms. Murphy has served as the Secretary of the Commission, heading the office that prepares, reviews, and maintains records of Commission action and advises the Commission and the SEC staff on administrative practices and procedures. From 2000 to 2009, she was the chief of the Division of Corporation Finance’s Office of Rulemaking, which plays a leading role in rulemaking projects undertaken by the division.
In her new role, Ms. Murphy will oversee the work of three offices within the division: the Office of Rulemaking, Office of Small Business Policy, and Office of Enforcement Liaision. The Office of Small Business Policy coordinates the division’s activities involving smaller public companies and limited, private, and intrastate securities offerings. The division’s Office of Enforcement Liaison coordinates with the Division of Enforcement on investigative matters, including those involving corporations that are delinquent in filing quarterly, annual, and other reports.
“I am excited to welcome Betsy back to the division, and look forward to her leadership in this new role,” said Keith Higgins, director of the Division of Corporation Finance. “Betsy’s strong relationships with staff inside and outside of the division, including with Commissioners and their counsel, will serve the agency extremely well in her new role. Her deep knowledge of the securities laws and the Commission’s rulemaking processes will also strengthen our ability to ensure the effective implementation of the rules required by the Dodd-Frank Act and the JOBS Act.”
Ms. Murphy first joined the division in 1986 as an attorney-advisor and was promoted to special counsel in 1987. She was made a special counsel in the division’s Office of the Chief Counsel in 1996 and later served as counsel to Commissioner Laura S. Unger. As chief of the division’s Office of Rulemaking, she overaw teams working on numerous rules, including many required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Ms. Murphy received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1982 and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1985.
