Bush Nominates Atlanta Attorney to SEC

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Friday nominated well-known Atlanta attorney Luis Aguilar to fill one of two open seats at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Cuban-American Democrat is a graduate of three Georgia colleges and a partner in the Atlanta office of the McKenna, Long & Aldridge law firm. His nomination comes at a time when many Wall Street critics are calling for stricter regulations of investment banks and other financial firms.

The five-member commission, which oversees financial markets, has been operating with just three Republican commissioners since January, even as market turmoil has deepened. The White House also nominated Democrat Elisse Walter, a former deputy director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, to fill the other open SEC seat.

Aguilar and Walter, who must win Senate confirmation, would replace former Democratic commissioners Annette Nazareth, who left in January, and Roel Campos, who stepped down in September. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recommended the two back in November to give the Bush administration time to conduct background checks.

If confirmed, Aguilar would fill Campos's seat, giving him a term that expires in June 2010, while Walter would serve until mid-2012 to complete Nazareth's remaining term. They would serve with the SEC's three Republicans, Chairman Christopher Cox and Commissioners Paul Atkins and Kathleen Casey.

"This a critical time for the SEC," said Kerry Moynihan, managing partner with Desmond Partners LLC, an executive search firm in Washington. With the Federal Reserve Board now offering new financial support for Wall Street firms and many lawmakers calling for additional financial regulations, the SEC's role is in flux, he said.

The SEC may be going through "a once-in-a-lifetime change" in its responsibilities, said Moynihan, whose firm searches for directors to serve on corporate boards. He predicted one of the top issues facing the SEC in coming months will be whether to curb excessive compensation for corporate executives.

"That issue is not going away," he said.

Aguilar, 54, who could not be reached for comment, is a former staff attorney at the SEC. But he is best known as an Atlanta lawyer with a high profile in the Hispanic community.

Last October, Atlanta Magazine named him one of the most influential foreign-born Atlantans, and in 2006, Hispanic Business Magazine called him one of the "100 Influential" Hispanics in the United States. In 2005, he was named "Member of the Year" by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber for his contributions to economic development in the Hispanic community, as well as his community and charitable efforts.

A partner in McKenna Long & Aldridge's corporate practice, Aguilar has been listed several times as one of Georgia's Super Lawyers, as published in Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine. The native of Cuba has been active in many civic and business organizations, such as the Latin American Association in Atlanta and Hispanic National Bar Association.

His experience includes serving as general counsel of a unit of Atlanta-based Invesco Ltd., an institutional investment company, and as a law partner at Alston & Bird LLP.

A graduate of Georgia Southern College, he got his law degree at the University of Georgia. He also holds a master of laws degree in taxation from Emory University.

In the past, Aguilar has drawn some criticism from labor leaders for raising doubts in published interviews about the cost-effectiveness of some portions of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which increased corporate accountability in the wake of several accounting scandals.

Walter, the other pending SEC nominee, currently is a regulatory policy executive at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest non-governmental regulator for broker-dealers.