Jay Clayton, the newly confirmed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has wasted no time filling key vacancies at the agency.

It was announced this week that William H. Hinman is the new director of the Division of Corporation Finance.

Hinman recently retired as a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where, according to the SEC, “he was a recognized leader in advising public and private companies in corporate finance matters.” He has advised a wide range of issuers and underwriters in capital-raising transactions and corporate acquisitions, including in the technology, e-commerce, health care, and biopharmaceutical areas.

“Mr. Hinman also is respected for his advice to public companies and their boards on public reporting, governance, and other corporate matters, and he has significant experience regarding derivatives, novel securities, and private placements,” the SEC’s announcement says. He has spoken on these subjects at the Annual Institutes on Securities Laws sponsored by the Practising Law Institute and has taught International Securities Regulation at Stanford Law School and the U.C. Berkeley School of Law.

“Bill is widely recognized for his judgment and expertise in the area of corporate finance. He also is a proven leader, mentor, and counselor. I know the SEC and the people it serves will benefit greatly from his valuable experience,” Clayton said of his pick. “He has spent the last 37 years working in our public and private markets, and he understands the SEC’s mission to promote capital formation while ensuring that investors have the information necessary to make informed decisions.”

Prior to joining Simpson Thacher as a partner in 2000, Hinman was the managing partner of Shearman & Sterling’s San Francisco and Menlo Park offices. He received his B.A. from Michigan State University with honors in 1977 and his J.D. in 1980 from Cornell University Law School, where he was a member of the Editorial Board of the Cornell Law Review. 

Hinmann is a member of the Bar Association of the State of California and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.  He is also a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Clayton also announced Lucas Moskowitz as chief of staff. “Lucas’s diverse background in both the public and private sectors has given him valuable experience in all three areas of the SEC’s core mission, and I am delighted to have him on board,” he said in a statement.

Moskowitz served as Chief Investigative Counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where he led the Committee’s investigative and oversight activities in connection with a wide variety of banking, securities, housing, and insurance matters. 

Before joining the Senate Banking Committee staff, Moskowitz served as a counsel on the Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives, where he worked on legislative and oversight matters to strengthen U.S. capital markets and promote capital formation.

Previously at the SEC, Moskowitz served as a counsel to former Commissioner Daniel Gallagher, advising him on domestic and international policy issues and regulatory matters. He was also an attorney in the Division of Enforcement.

Moskowitz began his government service as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Before and after his clerkship, he practiced securities law in the Washington, D.C. office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.

Most recently, Moskowitz was a managing director at Patomak Global Partners, where he provided consulting services to financial services firms and public companies on regulatory and compliance matters.

Moskowitz received his B.A. in Politics from Princeton University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.