Bresnan to Leave SEC to Join Simpson Thacher

Peter H. Bresnan, a deputy director of the Security and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division who successfully resolved the agency’s first yield-burning court case in the municipal bond market, plans to leave Dec. 5 to become a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in Washington, D.C. Bresnan handled several groundbreaking cases for the SEC, including litigation against Dain Rauscher Inc., now RBC Dain Rauscher Inc., for alleged securities fraud and yield burning in connection with an Arizona advance refunding. Rauscher settled the charges after a federal judge refused to dismiss them before a trial could be held. Bresnan, who has worked at the SEC since 1995, had been a deputy director since October, 2005. He had previously served in a variety of positions, including a five month stint during 2003 and 2004 as acting administrator of the SEC’s Boston district office and, prior to that, as deputy chief litigation counsel responsible for managing the commission’s nationwide litigation program.“Peter has been an eloquent and passionate advocate for investors’ interests,” said SEC chairman Christopher Cox in a statement. “His strong leadership of our national enforcement program has upheld the SEC’s preeminence as the gold standard of securities law enforcement. Investors large and small, America’s capital markets, and the entire nation have a courageous champion in Peter Bresnan.”Before joining the SEC, Bresnan was a litigator at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Kenyon College in 1977 and his law degree from Fordham University Law School in 1982.