Release: 5664-09
For Release: June 2, 2009

Chairman Gary Gensler Announces the Appointment of Dan Berkovitz as General Counsel

Washington, DC – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the appointment of Dan Berkovitz as General Counsel.

Mr. Berkovitz comes to the CFTC from the United States Senate where he served as Counsel to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Chaired by Senator Carl Levin. In this capacity, Berkovitz led several major investigations into energy markets, including the role of speculation in the trading of natural gas and crude oil contracts. Last year, he played a critical role during Congress’s consideration and passage of legislation to regulate electronic trading facilities for energy commodities.

In announcing the appointment, CFTC Chairman Gensler said, “Dan Berkovitz has been a thought leader, at the staff level in the U.S. Senate, on futures market regulation for nearly a decade. His thorough work on behalf of Senator Levin has been instrumental in identifying deficiencies, exposing weaknesses, and proposing improvements to commodity markets and their oversight. I am very pleased he has joined our team and I look forward to working closely with him to bring about much needed reforms to our regulation of these critical markets on behalf of the American people.”

From 1995-2001, Mr. Berkovitz served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Policy, and Budget in the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management program. In this position he was responsible for formulating and presenting to Congress the Department’s $6 billion annual budget for the clean-up of nuclear and hazardous wastes generated by the production of nuclear weapons. Prior to that, he served as Counsel to the Subcommittee on Nuclear Regulation of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Berkovitz has authored a number of law review and trade journal articles on the regulation of nuclear energy and wastes. He graduated cum laude with an A.B. in Physics from Princeton University in 1978, and received a J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1982. He resides in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Michelle, and two children, Zoe and Eli.

Media Contacts
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R. David Gary
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Last Updated: June 2, 2009