Former SEC Corporate Filing Chief to Return to Simpson Thacher

Bill Hinman, who led the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unit that reviews company filings until late last year, is returning to law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Hinman, 65, will be based in Washington and will work on capital markets issues as well as mergers and acquisitions, Simpson Thacher said in a statement Tuesday. In his earlier stint with the firm, he was based in Silicon Valley and worked on initial public offerings, including the one for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. that set a U.S. record at the time.

The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, under Hinman’s leadership, played a major role in crafting policies that were cheered by business executives, including an overhaul of corporate voting rules. The unit also oversaw the rise of blank-check firms that are created for the purpose of acquiring other businesses and helped advance the agency’s approval of a way for companies to raise money on the New York Stock Exchange without paying big underwriting fees to Wall Street banks.

“While at the SEC, I had the opportunity to help shape the regulatory response to a wide range of capital markets developments,” Hinman said in an emailed statement. “Corporate finance and governance have seen many innovations in recent years, and I am looking forward to advising companies and their boards in these areas and guiding them as they navigate the changing, and often challenging, corporate landscape.”

To contact the reporter on this story:
Ben Bain in Washington at bbain2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Jesse Westbrook at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net

Gregory Mott

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