Welcome to Compliance Hot Spots, our weekly snapshot on white-collar, regulatory and compliance news and trends. Today, we ask a former senior SEC enforcement official about Chair Gary Gensler's first year. Plus, a look at Big Law's complicated relationship with the Jan. 6 House select committee investigation. Please reach out with tips and feedback. Contact me at [email protected] and @AGoudsward on Twitter.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler. April 21, 2010. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Gensler's First Year: 'Unvarnished' Chair Takes on Ambitious Agenda

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has had, to put mildly, a busy first year.

The chair has embarked on one of, if not the most, ambitious rulemaking campaigns in the commission's history, covering everything from climate disclosures, SPACs and private funds. Gensler's "Everything Everywhere All At Once" approach has, as Bloomberg reported, spawned jokes about drinking games every time a new regulation is floated.

On the enforcement side, Gensler has emphasized speed, bemoaning defense counsel who "burn clock" hoping investigations falter. He has vowed to pursue "message cases" designed in part to spur change in the industry.