U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission building in Washington. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has named Elizabeth McFadden as its deputy general counsel for general law and management of the agency, a job that entails being the managing executive for the SEC's Office of General Counsel, headed by Robert Stebbins.

The SEC said McFadden will provide daily oversight into representing the commission, its members and employees in litigation and will advise the commission and its divisions and offices on their legal responsibilities, personnel management and budget.

In a statement, Stebbins said, “We are excited to have Elizabeth join us at the commission. I am confident that given her extensive experience and legal expertise, the commission and its employees will greatly benefit from her legal counsel.”

McFadden was unavailable for comment, but in a statement said she was grateful for the opportunity to join the SEC team, adding, “I look forward to working with them toward advancing the SEC's mission for American investors and markets.”

McFadden has regulatory experience. She joined the SEC after working 15 years in the U.S. Department of Education, most recently as deputy general counsel for ethics, legislative counsel and regulatory services. Prior to that she worked seven years as assistant general counsel for the department's regulatory services division, managing staff providing advice on regulatory issues.

From 1991 to mid-2003 she was an associate, then partner, at Dow Lohnes, now part of Cooley, practicing communications and transactional law. McFadden earned her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

While at the Department of Education, McFadden appeared to be busy the last couple years on projects to shrink government.

In May 2017 McFadden was named to a 15-person committee to recommend how to reorganize the education department and cut its workforce in coming years. The group included a mix of political appointees and career employees.

The plan met fierce criticism but went into effect last month and will take several months to implement. CNN reported the overhaul will involve consolidating several offices within the department.

Before she left, McFadden also was working on a project to shrink the number of regulations on “education stakeholders” by reviewing, rescinding and modifying outdated and burdensome rules.

She co-chaired the department's Regulatory Reform Task Force, whose mission was to reduce the burden of rules, including the financial cost, on states, school districts, educational institutions and others. The group's goal is to submit no less than 25 deregulatory actions to the Office of Management and Budget by Sept. 30.