[ad_1]
The head of the authorities of the US markets regulator has resigned a few days after being appointed following criticism from a judge about her conduct during her previous job as an ExxonMobil corporate lawyer.
Alex Oh announced Wednesday that she would resign as executive director of the Securities and Exchange Commission just six days after she was appointed, citing “personal reasons.”
But in an email seen by the Financial Times, he told Gary Gensler, the none recently confirmed of the SEC, that his resignation was for “a development [which] arose this week in one of the cases in which I worked while still practicing private law ”.
The message came two days after a District of Columbia judge raised the possibility of punishing Oh for accusing an opposition lawyer of being “agitated, disrespectful and dishonored” during a hearing in an ExxonMobil case.
The resignation was a hard blow for Gensler, who has one reputation for being tough on business crimes and had been expected to oversee a stricter enforcement regime than in the Trump administration.
Gensler said in a statement: “I thank Alex for his willingness to serve the country at this very important time.”
Could not contact us for comment.
Gensler’s choice of Oh dismayed progressives, who criticized her career as a corporate lawyer representing multinational companies.
While working at the Paul Weiss International Law Firm, he represented ExxonMobil in a civil case in which the oil company was accused of hiring private security forces in Indonesia who killed and tortured local villagers.
As part of this lengthy lawsuit, a dispute arose over the conduct of ExxonMobil’s lawyers after Indonesian villagers’ lawyers questioned ExxonMobil’s senior lawyer, Mark Snell, on February 14th. Plaintiffs later said they found Snell was deliberately unanswered, answering questions from a prepared script, in a tactic they said was devised and encouraged by ExxonMobil lawyers.
Otherwise, the oil company’s lawyers insisted, “The witness answered more than 300 substantive questions, the vast majority without reference to notes.”
In an order granted Monday, just four days after Oh had begun his new job at the SEC, a Washington DC judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs regarding the conduct of the lawyers, ordering ExxonMobil’s Indonesian subsidiary return to the courts “responds directly and sensitively.”
He personally criticized Oh, saying he could punish her for alleging without evidence that the plaintiffs’ attorney had been “agitated, disrespectful and dishonored” during the hearing.
In his email to Gensler, Oh said, “In light of the time and attention it will take me, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot address this development without it becoming an unwanted distraction for the important task of the [enforcement] division. “
Brad Karp, president of Paul Weiss, said in a statement: “We cannot comment on this matter because it involves a resolution in an ongoing litigation. Alex is a person with the utmost integrity and a consummate professional with a strong code of ethics. “.
[ad_2]
Source link
