Harvey Jerome Goldschmid (May 6, 1940 – February 12, 2015) was the Dwight Professor of Law at

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

. From 2002 to 2005, he served as a member of the

Securities & Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

, where, though a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, often sided with chairman William H. Donaldson. He was also an advisory board member of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the

Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate business school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Administration (MBA), MBA for Executiv ...

Biography

Goldschmid was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

on May 6, 1940. He graduated from Columbia College and

. He joined the

faculty in 1970 and became the Dwight Professor of Law in 1984.

Role in securities regulation

Goldschmid was recognized as perhaps the most influential SEC Commissioner who did not become the Chairman of the regulatory commission in the agency's history. Goldschmid was an advisor and general counsel to SEC Chairman

Arthur Levitt Arthur Levitt Jr. (born February 3, 1931) is the former Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He served from 1993 to 2001 as the twenty-fifth and longest-serving chairman of the commission. Widely hailed as a c ...

. Goldschmid supervised the revision of the pivotal SEC Rule of Practice 102(e) and helped draft Regulation FD. SEC Rule of Practice 102(e)(iv), four paragraphs long, articles "improper professional conduct". During the chairmanships of

Harvey Pitt Harvey L. Pitt (born February 28, 1945) is an American lawyer who served as the 26th chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), from 2001 to 2003. History Pitt graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1961. He graduated fr ...

and Bill Donaldson, Goldschmid continued his service as a Commissioner. Goldschmid publicly opposed the confirmation of Bill Webster as the first chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board due to issues with the appointment process. Webster was confirmed by a three-to-two vote over Goldschimd's dissent. Later, both Webster and Chairman Pitt resigned. During the subsequent chairmanship of Bill Donaldson, the Commission budget was expanded. One issue where Goldschmid differed with Donaldson was over shareholder proxy access. Goldschmid was one of the reporters on the American Law Institute's (ALI) Principles of Corporate Governance project. Part IV of this document addressed the business judgment rule and duty of care. Goldschmid died of complications from pneumonia in Manhattan on February 12, 2015, aged 74.

References

1940 births 2015 deaths New York (state) lawyers American businesspeople American legal scholars Columbia Law School alumni Columbia Law School faculty Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Columbia College (New York) alumni George W. Bush administration personnel Clinton administration personnel {{US-legal-academic-bio-stub