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“Back to Basics” – New SEC Enforcement Director Provides Roadmap for Commission’s Work

DATE

July 2, 2026

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In April 2026, David Woodcock took the reins as the Director of Enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission. He joined the SEC from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he served as Chair of the Securities and Enforcement Practice. Prior to his work in the private sector, he served as Director of the SECs Fort Worth Regional Office from 2011 to 2015.

In his first public remarks since assuming the role, Director Woodcock delivered a keynote address at the MFA Legal & Compliance 2026 Conference outlining a traditional enforcement agenda focused on high-impact cases involving investor harm, market integrity, and core fraud priorities. Specific areas of focus will include: Offering Fraud, Accounting and Disclosure Fraud, Market Manipulation and Insider Trading, Private Funds, and Cross Border Fraud. He will also reinstitute the Retail Fraud Working Group.

“As a matter of first principles, my goals are aligned to those of Chairman Atkins: to return the enforcement program back to basics…vigorously protecting investors and safeguarding markets, while also providing transparency and certainty to those we regulate,” Director Woodcock said. The full transcript of David Woodcock’s Remarks, MFA Legal & Compliance 2026 is available to read on SEC.gov.

Addressing criticism that the SEC has brought significantly fewer enforcement actions in recent years, he emphasized a shift toward “quality over quantity.” In fiscal year 2025, the Commission filed 456 enforcement actions—a 22% year-over-year decline. While the SEC reported $17.9 billion in monetary relief ordered during FY2025, that figure includes recoveries tied to a long-running 2009 Ponzi scheme matter. Excluding that case, adjusted relief totaled approximately $2.7 billion, notably less than the prior year.

In a recent post, the head of our Whistleblower practice Dave Joch highlighted that the SEC Whistleblower program had a notably active stretch for the SEC Whistleblower Program in April, including the highest volume of award activity in a seven-day period since September 2020.

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