March 8, 2013

CFTC Announces Departure of General Counsel Dan M. Berkovitz

Washington, DC—Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) General Counsel Dan M. Berkovitz today announced he will depart the agency ending a 30-year career in the Federal government. Mr. Berkovitz has served as CFTC’s General Counsel since June 2009, and during this period he has advised the Commission on a variety of landmark legislative and regulatory initiatives that have improved the integrity, transparency, and safety of the nation’s financial and commodity markets. Mr. Berkovitz was key to counseling the chairman and commissioners during the passage and implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), and he has counseled and represented the Commission on matters before the Congress, the courts, and the public. Mr. Berkovitz, who has no announced plans, will depart the agency at the end of March.

“Capping off 30 years of public service, Dan has so much to be proud of, foremost his leadership and counsel to the Administration, Congress and this Commission on swaps market reform that is now benefiting the public,” said Chairman Gensler.  “The public and this agency are losing a remarkable general counsel.  He will be missed by everyone at the CFTC.   I am honored to call him my friend.”

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work with Chairman Gensler, the Commissioners and the staff of the Commission during such a transformational period for the CFTC and the financial markets,” said Mr. Berkovitz. “I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to work on the Dodd-Frank legislation on behalf of the Commission and the extraordinary efforts by the Commission and staff over the past several years to implement that legislation. The Commission’s initiatives in these and other areas have made our financial and commodity markets more transparent, more accountable, and safer for the American public. I also would like to express my deep appreciation to my colleagues in the Office of General Counsel and throughout the agency for their hard work, support and collaboration in these efforts.”

Following the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, Mr. Berkovitz led the legal review of every rulemaking presented to the Commission to implement the Act—to date, 55 proposed rules and 43 final rules. He also managed the legal defense of the Commission’s rulemaking actions that have been challenged in Federal district and appellate courts. Mr. Berkovitz supervised the drafting of Commission orders and the legal review of staff actions to enable market participants to transition to the new regulatory regime. During this period he also counseled the Commission on a range of administrative, budgetary, and operational issues facing the agency. Since 2011, he served as the Chairman’s Deputy to the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Berkovitz served as Counsel to the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In this capacity, he led several investigations into the operation and regulation of energy markets and trading. He was a lead staff negotiator for the provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill that amended the Commodity Exchange Act to regulate, for the first time, the electronic trading of swaps in energy commodities. Previously, he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Policy, and Budget in the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management program to clean-up nuclear and hazardous wastes in the Clinton Administration and he also served as Counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Nuclear Regulation. He began his legal career in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 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.

Last Updated: March 8, 2013