Boston College Law School Professor Renee Jones, a respected scholar on matters of corporate governance, ethics, and regulation, began work last month as the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance.
She remains on the BC Law faculty, on a leave of absence during her service at the commission.
BC Law Interim Dean Diane Ring described the Princeton and Harvard Law-educated Jones as “an incredibly insightful and critical thinker” and said, “I have no doubt that she will excel in her new role.”
According to the SEC website, the division works “in support of the commission’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation” by providing investors “with material information in order to make informed investment decisions, both when a company initially offers its securities to the public and on an ongoing basis as it continues to give information to the marketplace.” The division also provides interpretive assistance to companies with respect to SEC rules and forms and makes recommendations to the commission regarding new rules and revisions to existing rules.
Jones is a member of the American Law Institute and former co-chair of the Securities Law Committee of the American Bar Association. At BC Law, where she most recently served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Jones has taught courses in corporations, securities regulation, startup company governance, and financial regulation.
Her recent article, “The Unicorn Governance Trap,” published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online, highlights the risks posed by the increasing number of unicorns (private companies valued at $1 billion or more) to investors, employees, consumers, and society. A related story, “It’s Time Unicorns Grew Up,” appeared in BC Law Magazine.
“Robust public disclosure has been a hallmark of effective securities regulation since the 1930s,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. “Renee brings deep expertise in corporate governance and securities law to the Division of Corporation Finance. Her leadership will be invaluable as the division facilitates disclosure under our current rules and undertakes rule modernization.”
“I am honored and humbled to be joining the Securities and Exchange Commission,” said Jones. “I am looking forward to the challenging and exciting work ahead.”
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