Acting SEC Chief Limits Subpoena Authority to Enforcement Division Acting Director -

On February 15, 2017,The Wall Street Journal reported that the acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Michael Piwowar, revoked subpoena authority from about 20 senior enforcement officials and limited such authority to Stephanie Avakian, the acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Since 2009, senior enforcement attorneys have had the authority to issue such subpoenas without review by the Director. The SEC did not announce the decision, but the Journal confirmed the change with “[t]wo people familiar with the matter.” The SEC’s Division of Enforcement conducts investigations into possible violations of the federal securities laws, and litigates the SEC’s civil enforcement proceedings in the federal courts and in administrative proceedings...