The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has selected David Woodcock as director of the Division of Enforcement, effective May 4.
Woodcock is currently a partner in the Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices of Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP, where he is chair of the firm’s Securities Enforcement Practice Group.
It’ll be Woodcock’s second rodeo at the Commission, after first serving as director of the Fort Worth Regional Office from 2011 to 2015. During his first time at the SEC, Woodcock led Enforcement and Examinations Division lawyers, accountants, and examiners, oversaw investigations in most areas of the SEC’s enforcement program, served as a member of the Enforcement Advisory Committee, and created and served as chair of the SEC’s cross-office and cross-division Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force.
Sam Waldon, who was appointed as acting director of the Enforcement Division, will stay in his role until May 4.
Woodcock’s appointment comes as the White House moves to expand alternative investments in retirement plans, and as the SEC expects “significant course corrections” over the next year after it clarified “flaws” in past agency enforcement actions involving cryptocurrency firms.
“The Division of Enforcement has undergone a significant course correction, restoring Congressional intent by prioritizing cases that provide meaningful investor protection and strengthen market integrity,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins in a statement. “…I am incredibly pleased to have David rejoin the SEC at this critical time, as we continue to focus on the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm to investors.”
On Tuesday, the SEC released a statement claiming the prior Commission had brought 95 actions and $2.3 billion in penalties against firms for book-and-record violations, including seven crypto firm registration-related cases. Among the firms included popular cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase.
The SEC said the cases had “no direct investor harm from those violations and “produced no investor benefit or protection.” Rather, the SEC said the cases “demonstrate what the current Commission views as a misinterpretation of the federal securities laws, a misallocation of Commission resources, and a bias for volume of cases brought versus matters of investor protection.”
The statement reflects the agency’s pro-crypto attitude since President Donald Trump took office in early 2025. SEC Chair Atkins has led the agency’s supportive stance on the digital assets since he was appointed to his role by Trump last year.