WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission's municipal securities office added another attorney advisor to its ranks when former McGuireWoods LLP lawyer Cori Shepherd joined in December.
Shepherd spent the previous five years as a part of McGuireWoods' public finance team after graduating from law school at the University of Maryland in 2008. She had served as a summer associate at the firm in 2007 and she also holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
"Cori Shepherd is a terrific new addition to our staff and she brings a valuable perspective based on her solid experience as disclosure counsel in municipal securities transactions," said SEC muni chief John Cross.
Alan Cason, a partner who worked with Shepherd in McGuireWoods' Baltimore office, praised Shepherd's skills.
"Cori is an excellent attorney and did an wonderful job in working with many of our best clients, Cason said. "Her experience at McGuireWoods should serve well at SEC. It is not hard to predict that she will have a successful career with the SEC."
The addition of Shepherd closely followed that of Edward Fierro in November. The muni office, which the Dodd-Frank Act mandated to become independent and to report directly to the SEC chairman, had shrunk prior to the recent hires due to the departures of two attorneys in the first half of 2013. The office also added Rebecca Olsen, from Ballard Spahr LLP, and Jessica Kane, from the commission's corporation finance division, last year.
The staff recently worked to produce guidance on the SEC's municipal advisor registration rule, which will serve as a guide for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as it works on new rules governing the conduct of muni advisors.
