The SEC has officially sworn in new commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher. Commissioner Gallagher was administered the oath of federal office last Friday evening by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz, and officially assumed his commissioner role at the SEC today. He was appointed by President Barack Obama on Oct. 24, 2011. Gallagher previously worked at the SEC for four years as a counsel to prior commissioners and as Deputy Director of the Division of Trading and Markets. Commissioner Gallagher’s first tenure at the SEC began in January 2006, serving as a counsel to SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins and later as a counsel to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. He worked primarily on major matters before the agency involving the Division of Trading and Markets and the Division of Enforcement. After joining the Division of Trading and Markets as a deputy director in 2008, he played a key role in the SEC’s response to the financial crisis and other key issues before the Commission at the time, including credit rating agencies and credit default swaps. He served as co-acting director of the Trading and Markets Division from April 2009 to January 2010, after which he left the agency to become a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of WilmerHale. [SEC.gov, 11/7/11]