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    Home /  Lawyers /  Jay Clayton

    Jay Clayton

    Retired Partner

    Jay Clayton Headshot Photo

    New York

    +1-212-558-4000

    |

    claytonwj@sullcrom.com

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    Jay Clayton retired from the Firm on April 21, 2025, to re-enter public service as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  Mr. Clayton also served as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission from May 2017 to December 2020.

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    Spotlight

    Jay Clayton Discusses Financial Regulation Under New Administration with Nikkei Asia

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    Jay Clayton and Karen Seymour to Speak at the University of Texas’ Inaugural Director-Executive Summit

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    S&C Sidebar – A Conversation with Jay Clayton and Annie Ostrager

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    Key Considerations for Boards in AI Governance

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    Jay Clayton Appears on CNBC’s Squawk Box

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    • Experience
    • News
    • Publications, Videos and Podcasts
    • Credentials
    • Related Practices
    Experience

    Experience

    Government Service (SEC Chair 2017–2020)

    As SEC Chair, Mr. Clayton focused on the interests of long-term investors and modernizing the function, regulation, and oversight of our equity and fixed income markets. These efforts included expanding investment opportunities for retail investors, increasing the standards of care required of brokers, and mandating more accessible fee disclosures. The Commission also processed disclosure filings and other administrative matters with increased efficiency and analytic rigor. 

    During Mr. Clayton’s tenure, the Division of Enforcement, again focusing on the interests of investors, obtained the highest (FY2020) and second highest (FY2019) financial remedies and, importantly, returned $3.5 billion to harmed investors. Mr. Clayton and his senior leadership team made diversity, inclusion and opportunity a daily priority throughout the organization. These efforts included adoption of the Commission’s first Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan and an increased focus by the Commission’s Advisory Committees on diversity, inclusion and opportunity in the financial industry.

    Under Chair Clayton’s leadership, the women and men of the SEC worked with their fellow federal financial regulators to address various unanticipated market developments and emerging risks, including the 2020 COVID-19 economic shock, the “ICO” euphoria and the digitization of securities and other assets, the Brexit and LIBOR transitions, and cybersecurity matters. Mr. Clayton was an active member of the Financial Stability Board, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.

    He also testified before Congress on over a dozen occasions, providing detailed, publicly-available testimony on the activities of the Commission, regulatory initiatives, cybersecurity and the state of financial markets.

    A summary of SEC activity during Mr. Clayton’s tenure is available here.

    Private Sector Experience

    Prior to chairing the SEC, Mr. Clayton was a member of the Sullivan & Cromwell management committee, co-managing partner of the Firm’s General Practice Group and co-head of its Cybersecurity Group. 

    Mr. Clayton currently advises corporations, investment firms and individuals on a range of strategic, governance and regulatory matters.  He also has board and advisory roles with several public, private and non-profit organizations.

    A summary of Mr. Clayton’s work at Sullivan & Cromwell is available here.

    Select Professional and Non-Profit Affiliations

    • Apollo Global Management, Independent Chair
    • American Express Company, Board of Directors
    • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee
    • University of Pennsylvania, Adjunct Professor, Joint Appointment in the Wharton School of Business and the Carey Law School; and Co-Chair of the Institute for Law and Economics
    • CNBC, Contributor
    • Advisory Committees of various private companies in the technology and financial services industries and non-profit organizations
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    News

    News

    • Watch Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton on CNBC’s Squawk Box

      Clayton, Sullivan & Cromwell Senior Policy Advisor and Of Counsel, is a regular Squawk Box contributor

    • Jay Clayton Discusses Financial Regulation Under New Administration with Nikkei Asia

      November 13, 2024
    • Jay Clayton and Karen Seymour to Speak at the University of Texas’ Inaugural Director-Executive Summit

      October 23, 2024
    • Jay Clayton Discusses Financial Services Regulation with Professors from Wharton and Stanford on the All Else Equal Podcast

      October 17, 2024
    • Jay Clayton Discusses Cryptocurrency Regulation on The Future of Money

      January 26, 2024
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    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    • S&C Sidebar – A Conversation with Jay Clayton and Mario Schollmeyer

      Videos February 18, 2025
    • S&C Sidebar – A Conversation with Jay Clayton and Alan Fishman

      Videos February 14, 2025
    • S&C Sidebar – A Conversation with Jay Clayton and Matthew Goodman

      Podcasts January 23, 2025
    • S&C Sidebar – A Conversation with Jay Clayton and Benjamin Beller

      Podcasts December 6, 2024
    • S&C Sidebar – A Conversation with Jay Clayton and Nicky Friedlander

      Podcasts November 19, 2024
    • S&C Sidebar – A Conversation with Jay Clayton and Kamil Shields

      Podcasts November 15, 2024
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    Credentials

    Credentials

    Education

    • University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 1993
    • University of Cambridge, B.A., 1990
    • University of Pennsylvania, B.S.Eng., 1988

    Bar Admissions

    • District of Columbia
    • New York

    Clerkships

    • The Honorable Marvin Katz, United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1993-1995
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    Related Practices

    Related Practices

    • General Practice
    • Broker-Dealer
    • Capital Markets
    • Congressional Investigations
    • Consumer Financial Services
    • Corporate Governance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Economic Sanctions and Financial Crime
    • Financial Services
    • National Security
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