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  • Context: Oral History
  • Format: Audio

Irving Pollack

Date: January 16, 2002
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Interviewed By: David Silver

Irving Pollack served at the SEC for 34 years after joining as a staff attorney in 1946. He became the SEC’s first director of the Division of Enforcement and he served as a Commissioner from 1974 to 1980. This oral history has one transcript but is split into three recordings which are described below.

Irving Pollack, Part 2

Irving Pollack, Part 3

Part I: In this part of the interview, which ends on p. 24, Mr. Pollack discusses his entry into the SEC, the agency’s formative culture and structure, major legal and enforcement developments, and his perspective on the importance of ethical standards and public service in securities regulation.

Part II

This part of the interview, which begins on p. 25,  covers the SEC’s move to centralized enforcement, collaboration with the DOJ, creative legal strategies, the impact of the Special Study, shortcomings in trading and auditor oversight, and the agency’s enduring culture of integrity and public service.

Part III

In this third recording, Pollack reflects on his post-SEC work in compliance, recalls notable enforcement cases, emphasizes the SEC’s culture of integrity and creativity, and highlights the agency’s global influence and ongoing challenges, particularly in accounting, while affirming the SEC’s critical role in maintaining market confidence. It starts on p. 49 of the transcript.