The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “SEC” recently announced that Karol L.K. Pollock is now the new leader of the examination program in the Los Angeles Regional Office.

Ms. Pollock has worked in the Los Angeles office for 10 years, where she most recently served as the Deputy Associate Director of the exam program, and prior to that as a staff attorney and a branch chief. According to the SEC press release, Pollock has “played a significant role in numerous SEC enforcement actions, including a 2008 case against five former San Diego city officials involved in inadequate municipal securities disclosures. She also helped litigate a case against the former CEO and former CFO of Gemstar-TV Guide International for their roles in a widespread and complex scheme to inflate licensing and advertising revenues.”

As the Associate Director, Pollock will oversee the exam program covering regulated firms in Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and Guam.

In the SEC press release, Andrew Bowden, Director of the SEC’s National Exam Program stated “Karol has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to protecting investors and our capital markets in a way that is fair, creative, and effective,” and “We are thrilled to recognize her accomplishments and promote her leadership in the National Exam Program.”

During 2014 there was a major increase in the SEC’s enforcement actions, so Ms. Pollock’s 25 years of experience in securities enforcement and regulation appears to align with the SEC’s continued commitment to protect investors and capital markets. With this in mind, it is important that firms perform compliance reviews at least annually to test the adequacy and efficiency of their policies, procedures and internal controls in order to help identify and address compliance and business risks.

To get an overview of the SEC’s 2014 enforcement cases, be sure to read JLG’s November Legal Tip, 2014 SEC Enforcement Cases- A Year in Review.

For more information on this and other related subjects, please contact us at info@jackolg.com or (619) 298-2880.