OREANDA-NEWS. November 17, 2015. The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has named Sanket J. Bulsara as the Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation and Adjudication.  He succeeds Michael A. Conley who has been appointed as SEC Solicitor.  Former Solicitor Jacob H. Stillman will remain as senior advisor to the Solicitor.

Mr. Stillman has 53 years of service at the SEC and has been its Solicitor for the past 17 years, leading the Office of the General Counsel’s Appellate Group in representing the Commission in litigation in the federal courts of appeals and, in conjunction with the Solicitor General, in the U.S. Supreme Court.  Before joining the SEC staff, Mr. Stillman clerked for Judge Harry E. Kalodner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and served as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Army.  He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas.

“No one has left more of an imprint on the nation’s securities laws than Jake, whose keen legal analysis and sound judgment have been essential to advancing the agency’s mission,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White.  “Jake has been involved in cases that have formed the very foundation of modern securities law, and investors and our markets are the beneficiaries.  We are all deeply grateful that he will continue to serve the Commission.”

Mr. Bulsara assumes his new position later this month, where he will oversee the Office of the General Counsel’s Appellate Litigation and Adjudication Groups.  He was a partner at the law firm of WilmerHale where he litigated securities, contract, bankruptcy, and regulatory matters in state and federal court and represented clients in commercial and securities arbitrations.  Mr. Bulsara began his legal career as a clerk for Judge John G. Koeltl of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  He is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College.

“I am delighted to welcome Sanket to the agency.  He is a terrific lawyer and his broad range of experiences will serve the Commission and investors well,” said SEC General Counsel Anne Small.  “We also are very fortunate to have Jake remain with us and to have Michael carry on Jake’s example of wise counsel and mentoring of the appellate attorneys who litigate on behalf of the SEC.”

Mr. Bulsara said, “I am honored to serve alongside the dedicated and talented public servants at the SEC who work to protect investors and the country’s financial markets.  I look forward to joining the Office of the General Counsel and working to advance the agency’s mission.” 

Mr. Conley has been SEC’s Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation and Adjudication since 2011 and previously was its Deputy Solicitor.  He came to the SEC in October 2000 from Pillsbury Madison and Sutro where he was a member of the appellate litigation group and managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.  He began his legal career clerking for Judge Abner J. Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and later clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun.  Mr. Conley graduated with highest honors from the Boston University School of Law, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Boston University Law Review, and is a summa cum laude graduate of Iona College.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to work alongside the extraordinarily talented and dedicated lawyers in our Appellate Litigation and Bankruptcy Group,” Mr. Conley said.  “Jake has been a superlative colleague and mentor and I am especially thankful that he has agreed to serve as an advisor as I assume this new role.”