Brian G. Cartwright (born 1948) is an American lawyer and former astrophysicist. From 2006 to 2009, he was general counsel for the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States 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. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

of the USA.

Career

On January 3, 2006, the SEC Commission Chair

Christopher Cox Charles Christopher Cox (born October 16, 1952) is an American attorney and politician who served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a 17-year Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House ...

officially appointed ex-

Latham & Watkins Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2022, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the world ...

partner Brian G. Cartwright as its top lawyer, replacing

Giovanni Prezioso Giovanni Prezioso (December 23, 1957-February 28, 2023) became General Counsel of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in April 2002. Prezioso served in that post under three different chairmen; Harvey Pitt, William Donaldson, and Christophe ...

. In 2008 Cartwright announced he was leaving the SEC. Cartwright holds a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where he was president of the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...

'' and winner of the Sears Prize, given every year to the first and second-year students with the highest grade point averages. He served as law clerk to

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

Justice

Sandra Day O’Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, O' ...

from 1981 to 1982. Before becoming a lawyer, Cartwright was an astrophysicist graduating from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He earned a Ph.D. in physics from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and worked as a research physicist at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

at Berkeley's space sciences laboratory. He published numerous articles in scholarly journals including the

Astrophysical Journal ''The Astrophysical Journal'' (''ApJ'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and James Edward Keeler. The journal discontinued its print edition and ...

.Brian G. Cartwright, "The Origin of Fluorine, Sodium and Aluminum in the Galactic Cosmic Radiation", Astrophys. J., 169, 299, 1971.

Personal life

Brian Cartwright is married with three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Brian 1948 births Living people American lawyers Harvard Law School alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

Career

Personal life

See also

References