Sean Memon. June 4, 2013. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ

Veteran in-house lawyer Lucas Moskowitz is leaving his job as chief of staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 1, and the agency has announced promotions for two other in-house counsel.

The commission said Wednesday that deputy chief of staff Sean Memon has been promoted to replace Moskowitz. Memon has been with the agency since May 2017.

Bryan Wood was named to replace Memon as deputy chief of staff. Wood has served as the SEC's director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs since June 2017, where he served as the agency's primary congressional liaison.

In a statement, chairman Jay Clayton said of Memon, “Sean has been an indispensable asset to the commission as deputy chief of staff, taking on a wide portfolio involving some of the most important and complex issues the agency handles.”

Memon did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in the statement he said, “It truly is a privilege to be a part of the incredible team that is the SEC.”

Prior to joining the commission, Memon practiced law at Sullivan & Cromwell.

Previously, he was a member of the finance and acquisitions department at Time Warner Inc. and had served as an analyst in the technology investment banking groups of Raymond James & Associates and Morgan Stanley & Co. Memon received his law degree from Duke University.

Besides his legislative duties, the agency said Wood also served as the chairman's deputy on the Federal Housing Finance Oversight Board and the Financial Stability Oversight Board.

Clayton said in a statement of Wood, “Bryan has skillfully steered the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs through events both expected and unexpected during his tenure. His deep knowledge of government, from Congress to the commission to the FHFA and other bodies, will serve the agency well.”

A statement from Wood said, “I am honored by the opportunity and excited to continue serving with Chairman Clayton, the commissioners and the talented staff to advance the SEC's important mission.”

Prior to joining the agency, Wood spent 10 years on Capitol Hill, most recently as senior adviser and counsel at the House Financial Services Committee. Wood graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center.

Moskowitz has not yet commented on his future plans. Prior to taking the chief of staff job two years ago, he was a managing director at Patomak Global Partners.

Moskowitz began his government service as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman of the Southern District of New York. Before and after his clerkship, he practiced securities law in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

Moskowitz first joined the commission in 2010, serving as an attorney in the division of enforcement and, later, as a counsel to Commissioner Daniel Gallagher.

After leaving the agency, Moskowitz served as chief investigative counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, where he led the committee's investigative and oversight activities. Previously he served as a counsel on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.