SEC Appoints Judge Margaret “Meg” Ryan As The New Director Of The Division Of Enforcement

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has named Judge Margaret “Meg” Ryan as the new Director of the Division of Enforcement. Judge Ryan will succeed Acting Director Sam Waldon, who has served as Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement since January 2025, following Sanjay Wadhwa’s departure from the agency. Judge Ryan’s tenure will begin September 2, 2025, at which point Waldon will return to his former role as Chief Counsel for the Enforcement Division.

Judge Ryan is currently the senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. She was nominated to the court in December 2006 and reached senior status in August 2020. Judge Ryan also serves as a lecturer at Harvard Law School. Prior to her appointment as a judge, she was a partner at two law firms and clerked for the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit. While Judge Ryan’s background does not on its face reflect significant experience with enforcement of the federal securities laws, she has broad and excellent credentials and will no doubt be able to lean on others to the extent specific expertise is needed as she settles into her new role.

Under Acting Director Waldon, the Enforcement Division has focused heavily on traditional fraud and retail investor harm, while shifting away from some of the more controversial case theories and cryptocurrency matters pursued in recent years. The appointment of Director Ryan is not expected to prompt a revisitation of any of these matters or trends, but will almost certainly spur additional activity. Indeed, because we understand that certain initiatives and decisions within the Enforcement Division have been awaiting the formal appointment of a new Director, we expect to see several key announcements regarding both Division operations and individual cases in the coming months.