Bell Nunnally Partner John F. Guild authored the Association for Corporate Counsel (ACC) Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter Spring 2025 newsletter article “What to Expect from the Paul Atkins SEC.”  Atkins, President Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was confirmed by the Senate on April 9.

In the article, Guild explores how the Trump Administration’s avowed light-touch/deregulatory approach, coupled with Atkins’s long-standing “free-market” outlook, may alter the SEC’s policies. He also outlines key impacts for public and private companies, financial firms and crypto-asset participants, concluding with recommended steps for in-house counsel to remain prepared and compliant.

Guild writes that the SEC is poised to embrace a sweeping deregulatory agenda. The administration’s direct control over independent agencies is set to potentially expand, with Executive Orders enabling presidential review of SEC rules, defunding of disfavored enforcement areas like FCPA and even possible at-will removal of commissioners.

Atkins’s leadership signals a major pivot in both regulation and enforcement over the previous administration, adds Guild. The SEC will now place greater emphasis on financial materiality, abandon ESG disclosure mandates and largely retreat from industry-wide enforcement “sweeps.” “Corporations do not act; individuals do,” Atkins has written, underscoring a return to targeting individual misconduct over corporate fines. Under this philosophy, enforcement will emphasize investor harm and fraud rather than technical violations.

Guild concludes by noting:

[I]n-house counsel should not view these developments as a license to ignore fundamental risk management. Private plaintiffs and state regulators remain active and will attempt to step into any vacuum the SEC leaves. The best strategy is to adapt prudently—redirect compliance resources from peripheral mandates toward core investor-protection concerns, maintain robust internal controls and use the SEC’s new openness to shape compliance solutions. Documenting every step, building cooperative channels with regulators, and closely watching evolving regulatory changes will keep your company positioned for success in this new regulatory era.

To read the full article, please click here.