T: +1 212 909 6260
E: mjwhite@debevoise.com
W: www.debevoise.com
Mary Jo White is a litigation partner at Debevoise and Senior Chair of the firm. Ms. White is the leader of the firm’s Strategic Crisis Response and Solutions Group. Her practice focuses on counseling boards of directors and representing clients on significant and sensitive matters, including companies facing crises involving multi-faceted government investigations and cases. She has decades of experience prosecuting and defending a wide range of white collar criminal and civil cases, having served as Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and as a well-known private practitioner in high-profile matters.
Prior to rejoining the firm in 2017, Ms. White served for nearly four years as Chair of the SEC. She was nominated by President Obama to lead the SEC and was one of the Commission’s longest-serving Chairs. Prior to the SEC, Ms. White was Chair of Debevoise’s Litigation Department and served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York – the only woman to hold that position in the more than 200-year history of the office.
In addition, Ms. White has served as Director of The Nasdaq Stock Exchange, and on its Executive, Audit and Policy Committees. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Ms. White has been named one of the National Law Journal’s “50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America” on multiple occasions and received the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Distinction in Public Service, the Magnificent 7 Award of the Business and Professional Women/USA, the Women of Power and Influence Award from the National Organization of Women, the Most Influential Women in the Law Award from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the Gold Medal Award from the New York State Bar Association and the Fordham-Stein Prize, recognizing an individual whose work best exemplifies the highest standards of ethics and justice.
Last Updated July 2018
