Working in the SEC Enforcement Division as a staff investigator was by far the best job I ever had. The work was exciting, fun, and full of surprises and challenges. I enjoyed the public service aspect of the job immensely. Although the position is not suited for everyone, for the lucky few it can be the job of a lifetime. Here are some of the reasons why:
1) The work you do is critically important. The primary mission of the SEC is to protect investors, and the Enforcement Division plays an essential role in that mission. The investigations conducted by Enforcement staff help ensure that the U.S. securities markets are fair and honest. And, as an investigative staffer in the Enforcement Division, you are quickly given significant responsibility to investigate major frauds and a wide variety of shady financial practices.
2) You are a public servant. Staff investigators get to make decisions with the public interest in mind. To me, furthering the public good was much more gratifying than representing a large bank or a millionaire caught trying to profit at the expense of others.
3) The work is fun. The investigations are almost always interesting and the characters involved are quite often colorful. Plus, almost every investigation has some challenge associated with it. Sometimes the challenge is determining motive or deciding on the appropriate legal theory, other times it might convincing others (or yourself) that the case is worth pursuing or finding enough evidence to make a compelling case. If you like solving puzzles, dealing with knotty issues, and cornering sophisticated con men, the job is terrific.
4) Some investigations have the potential to be highly consequential. Certain cases involve enormous sums of money or serious sanctions, some even result in jail time for the offenders. Other cases aim at changing fraudulent industry conduct that has gone undetected for many years. Still others uncover cutting-edge frauds or crimes. These features of the work make the work exciting.
5) The vast majority of the people in the Division are enjoyable to work with. Although weasels and snakes sometimes slip past the hiring committee firewall, these destructive personalities can almost always be spotted and avoided, and thankfully most leave after a short time (usually after being marginalized). Nearly all of the people in the Division are kind and decent, and, with some luck, you may even end up with a few friends that you can keep long after you leave the agency.
6) You get to work with some truly exceptional professionals. I had the very good fortune to work with several individuals who fit this description: all had terrific judgment and were persuasive and decisive, always willing to share their time and insights. The best said what everyone knew to be true but were afraid to say and stood up for what was right even when it is not in their self-interest to do so. They were quick to take responsibility for the mistakes of others and thrived in pressure cooker situations. Such leaders existed while I worked at the SEC and can still be found there today. These individuals can made work seem more like play and inspire in ways that that one will remember long after leaving government service.
7) The defense bar is pretty good too. Though I often wondered how certain attorneys managed to end up representing some fairly significant clients when I wouldn’t have hired them to represent me in a minor lawsuit, I found other defense counsel to be extremely talented. You can learn a tremendous amount dealing with the talented defense attorneys. At the same time, the worst defense attorneys will provide you with lots of entertainment and endless examples of how not to behave.
8) You can really enhance your skills as an attorney. While I worked as a staff investigator, I probably took the testimony of twenty or more individuals each year, and interviewed or participated in proffer sessions of many more. I also wrote or edited dozens of memos every year. When I started in the Division, I had almost no experience taking testimony and my writing needed some serious work, but after much practice I got significantly better at these important legal skills.
9) The pay and benefits are excellent. Many enforcement employees make more than $200,000 per year and staff are often permitted to work remotely from home one or more days a week. Moreover, most supervisors are flexible about how you accomplish your assignments if you are getting your work done. Not bad for government work.
The SEC in Action 