SEC Administrative Proceedings After Lucia

By Daniel Walfish (June 27, 2018, 4:16 PM EDT) -- On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in Lucia v. SEC, that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's administrative law judges, or ALJs, are not mere federal employees but "officers" covered by the Constitution's appointments clause. That means that the ALJs have to be appointed directly by a "head of department" (in this case the SEC's five commissioners) or, in theory, by the president or the courts. Until now, the SEC's ALJs were installed through a civil service hiring process without direct involvement from the commissioners. The case is a significant development in administrative law, and in its aftermath, the SEC will probably have to redo many of its pre-Lucia administrative proceedings, or APs, potentially straining its resources. However, in the long run, the SEC's APs probably will not be materially affected by Lucia....

Law360 is on it, so you are, too.

A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions.


A Law360 subscription includes features such as

  • Daily newsletters
  • Expert analysis
  • Mobile app
  • Advanced search
  • Judge information
  • Real-time alerts
  • 450K+ searchable archived articles

And more!

Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial.

Start Free Trial

Already a subscriber? Click here to login

Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!