New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal will be leaving his position to assume a leading role with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC announced Tuesday.
Grewal will serve as the SEC’s director of the Division of Enforcement, effective July 26.
“I’m excited to get to work with the talented team of public servants to uncover and prosecute misconduct and protect investors,” Grewal said in a release. “I thank Gov. (Phil) Murphy for the opportunity to serve the people of New Jersey and all of the colleagues with whom I’ve had the pleasure to work during my career in the state.”
Murphy had praise for the work Grewal did as attorney general, a role he has held since January 2018, when he was confirmed by the state Senate.
“Through his efforts standing up to the (President Donald) Trump administration’s attacks on New Jersey and our diverse communities, instituting historic reforms in policing and leading the fight against gun violence, Attorney General Grewal has been an invaluable member of our administration and a dedicated public servant to the residents of New Jersey,” Murphy said. “Though we’ll miss his leadership, I know he’s the right person to protect investors all across the nation, and I congratulate SEC Chair (Gary) Gensler for this outstanding selection.”
Gensler said the SEC is delighted to have Grewal.
“He has had a distinguished career as New Jersey’s chief law enforcement officer and as a prosecutor at both the local and federal levels,” he said. “He has the ideal combination of experience, values, and leadership ability to helm the Enforcement Division at this critical time. I look forward to working closely with him to protect investors and root out wrongdoing in our markets.”
As New Jersey’s attorney general, Grewal heads the Department of Law & Public Safety, which employs more than 3,700 uniformed officers, 750 lawyers and thousands of additional public servants, including investigators, regulators and administrative staff.
Before becoming attorney general, Grewal served as Bergen County prosecutor, the chief law enforcement office of New Jersey’s most populous county. Earlier in his career, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where he served as chief of the Economic Crimes Unit from 2014 to 2016 and oversaw the investigation and prosecution of all major white collar and cybercrimes in the District of New Jersey. He also previously served as an AUSA in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, where he was assigned to the Business and Securities Fraud Unit. Grewal worked in private practice from 1999-2004 and from 2008-2010.
Grewal graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in foreign service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1995. He obtained his law degree from the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1999.
