The arrival of Caroline Crenshaw was featured in Politico, Law360 (also featured in Law360 Pulse), Bloomberg Tax (also featured in Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Environment), American Lawyer, Financial Advisor IQ, City Biz, Capitol Account DC, Securities Docket, Reuters, Big Law Markets, Attorney at Law, Wealth Management (also featured in Yahoo Finance), and Corporate Counsel Business Journal.
Caroline A. Crenshaw, a former commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington, DC office. At Venable, Crenshaw will draw on her widely recognized industry leadership and more than 15 years of experience at the SEC and in private practice, including almost six years as a commissioner, to help clients anticipate and respond to regulatory developments and navigate novel or complex securities issues.
As one of five presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed SEC commissioners, Crenshaw helped direct the Commission’s policy, enforcement, and rulemaking responsibilities as it oversaw more than $150 trillion in U.S. securities markets. She helped shape significant agency actions affecting public companies, broker-dealers, investment advisors, investment funds, exchanges, accounting firms, and investors. Her work encompassed securities law and compliance, regulatory examinations, rulemaking, enforcement matters, and interagency and industry engagement. She advised on matters ranging from market structure rules and Regulation Best Interest and exchange-traded fund, liquidity, and custody rules to executive compensation rules, public company disclosures, and the proxy system.
Before becoming a commissioner, Crenshaw served in senior legal positions within the SEC, including the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (now the Division of Examinations), and as counsel to Commissioners Robert J. Jackson, Jr. and Kara M. Stein. She counseled on examinations, advised on rulemaking and enforcement matters, and developed a comprehensive understanding of how the Commission evaluates emerging issues, develops policy, and initiates agency action. Before joining the SEC, she represented public companies, corporate officers and directors, insurance companies, broker-dealers, and investment advisors in securities investigations and enforcement matters.
Crenshaw also served as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School and her A.B., cum laude, from Harvard College. Her arrival significantly expands Venable’s capabilities in securities, regulatory, and government in Washington, DC.