Lawyer Pay

SEC Chair Among Government Lawyers Getting Big Severance Payments

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The new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission is one of several lawyers joining the administration who are getting big lump-sum payments from their previous employers.

Mary Schapiro comes to the administration from the self-regulatory body for the securities industry that she headed, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. An SEC spokesman says Schapiro is getting a package was worth $7.2 million from FINRA’s defined benefit plans, the Washington Post reports. She is also getting $675,033 in deferred compensation from Kraft Foods, where she was a board member, and $750,000 to $1.5 million in deferred compensation from Duke Energy.

The story identifies other lawyers getting big payouts. They include:

• Attorney General Eric Holder, getting $1.3 million in severance from Covington & Burling, according to Judiciary Committee documents.

• Jeh Johnson, nominated to be the Pentagon’s top lawyer, getting a severance of $1 million to $5 million from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

• Thomas Perrelli, nominated for associate attorney general, eligible for an estimated “withdrawal payment” of $768,200 from Jenner & Block.

• Ron Kirk, nominated for U.S. trade representative, getting a $150,000 bonus from Vinson & Elkins, and accelerated vesting of his defined-contribution plan. He also would get payouts from several companies for which he served on corporate boards.

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