Berkovitz named CFTC general counsel

Dan Berkovitz has taken over the role of general counsel at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) at the request of Gary Gensler, the regulator's recently appointed chairman.

Berkovitz replaces Terry Arbit, who was appointed acting general counsel on April 30, 2007, and took over the role officially on August 20, 2007.

In his new role Berkovitz will head the Office of the General Counsel, which provides legal advice on all regulatory, legislative and administrative matters presented to the CFTC, as well as applying the Commodities Exchange Act - a federal law for commodities and futures trading.

Before joining the CFTC, Berkovitz worked at the US Senate as counsel to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Democratic senator for Michigan Carl Levin. Berkovitz assisted Levin in several investigations into energy market speculation, including the so-called 'London loophole' in June 2008, and the 'Enron Loophole' in the summer of 2007.

Under Levin, Berkovitz was also involved in Congress's decision to pass legislation for regulating electronic trading facilities for energy commodities. Between 1995 and 2001, he was deputy assistant secretary for planning, policy and budget in the Department of Energy's environmental management programme.

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