A former partner with New York corporate law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, Ms White was also a prosecutor for a decade and the first woman to be US attorney for the Southern District of New York, reports the Financial Times.

Reform

Ms White will take the reins at the SEC at what is seen as a crucial time for the regulator as it pushes ahead with reforms under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
Tim Johnson, the South Dakota Democrat who chairs the Senate banking committee, commented: ‘The SEC needs a strong leader in place as it works to implement Wall Street Reform, and that is exactly what the commission is getting with Mary Jo White.’

Insider trading

Ms White’s predecessor, Ms Schapiro, gained acclaim for her high-profile fights against insider trading which in turn helped to improve the SEC’s image.
Tom Gorman, a Washington-based lawyer at Dorsey and Whitney, added: ‘Her predecessor took the agency back from the brink. But Mary Jo White has to take it forward – from rule-writing to energising the enforcement division.’