By Matt Garza, J.D.
The SEC issued a joint statement honoring the career of Harvey Pitt, who passed away on May 30th in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78. Pitt started his career with the SEC’s Office of General Counsel straight out of law school in 1968 and he became the youngest General Counsel in the agency’s history after seven years. It was his dream to lead the agency, according to the statement, and after being appointed by President George W. Bush he led the agency for 15 months from August 2001 to February 2003, when his tenure was cut short after coming under fire for his choice to lead the newly-formed PCAOB. The controversy triggered his resignation letter on November 5, 2002, although he continued in the role during the search for his replacement.
After being succeeded by William Donaldson, Pitt formed Kalorama Partners and remained an active defense attorney and securities regulation thought leader. He maintained a commitment to the education of securities lawyers, serving as a frequent panelist at conferences and as the founding trustee of the SEC Historical Society. He also taught at Georgetown University Law Center, George Washington University Law School, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
SOX. Chairman Pitt was at the helm of the SEC during the accounting scandals of the late 90s and early 2000s and oversaw the implementation of the congressional response in the form of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The legislation, which came together quickly after major accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom, was the subject of an SEC Historical Society event in July of last year in which Pitt recalled that WorldCom was a “game changer” that caused Congressional resolve to adopt a statute to become “manifest.” Despite the fact that SOX was initiated by Congress, Pitt said the SEC had input on many issues, although not the “stringent deadlines” Congress would impose for carrying out SEC rulemakings. Pitt also noted that SEC staff were unrestrained in providing technical assistance to Congress and that once SOX became law the SEC was resolved to meet the statutory deadlines. The overwhelming support in Congress for SOX made it easier for the SEC staff and the Commission to carry out the nearly two dozen rulemakings, he said, while also noting that the rule proposals were all adopted unanimously (he later said that this feat might be harder to achieve in today’s environment).
9/11. Pitt was also remembered for being a steadying presence during the chaos of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, when southern Manhattan lost power and concerns grew about the operations of the securities markets. Pitt said he worked directly with Richard Grasso, then chairman of the NYSE, to shut down the markets, which remained closed for 4 days, and maintained steady contact with key market players during the week.
The commissioners said Pitt remained available to offer advice on agency rulemaking even in the last year of his life, and he continued to submit comment letters on rulemaking proposals. He is survived by his wife, Saree, and his four children.