Paul S. Atkins

Paul S. Atkins is a recent Republican commissioner of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He was sworn in on July 29, 2002 and his term expired in August 2008.

Atkins received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1983 an A.B. from Wofford College in 1980 where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Originally from Lillington, North Carolina, Atkins grew up in Tampa, Florida. He is married with three sons.

Accusations of stonewalling

Mr. Atkins has been a controversial figure among those who closely follow the SEC's regulatory actions. Mr. Atkins appears now to have benefitted in his management at SEC from the White House's delay in the appointment of two new SEC commissioners when the two Democratic Party commissioners' terms ended, allowing a number of key regulatory objectives to be scuttled. Examining the decline in SEC investigations and prosecutions under Chairman Christopher Cox, an investigative article by the magazine "Portfolio" published just following Atkins' tenure [Scott Paltrow, "S.E.C. No Evil," Portfolio.com, October 2008, http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2008/09/18/Profile-of-SEC-Chief-Christopher-Cox] observed:

[SEC Chairman Christopher] Cox did not accomplish these changes on his own. Internal agency politics, critics say, played a major role, with Cox’s Republican colleagues, particularly Paul Atkins, pressing him to roll back enforcement and rein in the division’s independence. Beginning in late 2007, the White House, which nominates S.E.C. commissioners, helped clear the way for retrenchment in enforcement by delaying the replacement of two Democratic commissioners whose terms had ended. From January through July 2008, the commission had just three members, all Republican. This gave Atkins and Kathleen Casey de facto veto power over the more moderate chairman.

... One former S.E.C. official claims to have heard Atkins remark that he believed that the S.E.C. was “unconstitutionally constituted.” Atkins denies this, saying that if he had believed the S.E.C. was unconstitutional, he would not have served on the commission. But a friend of Atkins’ says, “If you surprised Paul and asked him what he really thinks of the S.E.C., he’d probably say, ‘Blow it up.’""

Notes

References

ee also

*Christopher Cox
*Economic crisis of 2008