Mary Jo White, who made her name pursuing terrorists, mobsters and white-collar criminals as a federal prosecutor in New York, is the Obama administration's likely pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The post has recently been occupied by career regulators, a politician, an investment banker and a top securities lawyer. Although White made her name as a prosecutor in the high-profile district that includes Manhattan, for the past decade she has worked as an attorney at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where she oversees the litigation practice. At Debevoise, she advised a number of large securities firms that are regulated by the SEC. She also defended Bank of America Corp.'s former chief executive, Kenneth Lewis, against civil securities-fraud litigation and helped Morgan Stanley vet John Mack when it was getting ready to name him chief executive in 2005.
