Benjamin Schiffrin is Director of Securities Policy for Better Markets, where he leads our work regarding securities across the policymaking process, focusing on the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Schiffrin’s work includes commenting on proposed rules, formulating policy recommendations, authoring original materials, and engaging with all interested stakeholders regarding issues impacting securities regulation and the securities markets. Mr. Schiffrin also assists Better Markets’ Legal Team in drafting amicus curiae briefs in securities cases.
Before joining Better Markets, Mr. Schiffrin worked at the SEC for 18 years, most recently as an Associate General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel. As Associate General Counsel from 2016 to 2022, Mr. Schiffrin advised the Commissioners and oversaw the Commission’s administrative enforcement program, including the drafting of adjudicatory opinions and orders on behalf of the Commission. Mr. Schiffrin also provided counsel to the Commission on rules promulgated by both the Commission and the self-regulatory organizations such as FINRA.
From 2008 to 2016, Mr. Schiffrin served as an appellate litigator in the Office of the General Counsel at the SEC, where he prepared briefs and presented oral arguments on behalf of the Commission before the United States Courts of Appeals. Mr. Schiffrin also assisted the Solicitor General’s office in preparing briefs as amicus curiae before the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Schiffrin started his career as a staff attorney in the Office of Adjudications at the SEC in 2004. In 2007, he received the Manuel F. Cohen Outstanding SEC Younger Lawyer Award.
Mr. Schiffrin holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, and graduated summa cum laude with a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University.
Recent Media Quotes
How hedge funds are fighting back against the SEC’s ‘aggressive’ agenda (Financial Times)
“Gensler’s plans were designed to ensure that the rules keep pace with the changes that we’ve seen in the market, so that investors can continue to be protected.”
Gary Gensler’s crypto warning for Congress (Politico)
“Anything that is going to further expose investors to the crypto market without sufficient investor protections is highly problematic. The further crypto is entangled with the traditional financial system, the greater the risk that all the problems in the crypto marketplace are going to spill over.”
SEC Narrows Its Rulemaking Focus As Election Looms (Law 360)
“For many of the rules on the SEC agenda that they’ve already proposed, it should be crystal clear that the SEC has the authority to do what it has proposed.”
