Reeling from the fallout of the Madoff scandal, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been searching for a new strategy and new leadership in its mission to protect the investing public from fraud.  As part of this effort, the S.E.C. recently unveiled six new organizational departments that will lead units aimed at supervising particular domains of finance: asset management, market abuse, structured and new products, foreign corrupt practices, and municipal securities and public pensions.  These changes come with a public recognition that in the rapidly changing world of modern finance the Commission must be constantly vigilant to keep pace with innovation in the markets, as well as a keen awareness that in the wake of the Madoff fiasco the public and Congress are demanding swift action to improve the quality of financial industry oversight.

But while the Commission seeks new and innovative strategies for fulfilling its policy objectives, its core mission of overseeing financial markets continues to depend on its ability to directly probe into the activities of market players, and starting at the end of January, the front-lines inspectors in America's financial capital will have a new chief, private fund industry expert Norman Champ '89, who will take on the role of Regional Associate Director for the S.E.C.'s New York Regional Office.  Champ brings a wealth of experience as an attorney and industry insider, having worked for eight years at Davis Polk & Wardwell before becoming general counsel at Chilton Investments, a private investment management fund based in Stamford, Connecticut with over $7 billion in assets under management.  Champ served until the end of 2009 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Chilton, in addition to representing the interests of the hedge fund industry as a member of the board of directors of the Managed Funds Association.

via The Harvard Law Record – SEC restructures to catch next Madoff.