Paul Atkins
Paul S. Atkins is the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He has framed the Commission’s enforcement posture around “quality over quantity” — focusing on traditional fraud cases (Ponzi schemes, insider trading, financial reporting violations) and individual accountability rather than novel boundary-pushing theories.
Atkins announced the rescission of the SEC’s long-standing no-admit, no-deny settlement policy on May 18, 2026, framing the change as a First Amendment matter and ending a rule that had been in place since 1972.