Harvey Goldschmid

Harvey Goldschmid
Born	Harvey Jerome Goldschmid (1940-05-06)May 6, 1940 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	February 11, 2015(2015-02-11) (aged 74) New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	Columbia Law School Columbia University
Scientific career
Fields	Corporation law, securities law
Institutions	Columbia Law School

Harvey Jerome Goldschmid (May 6, 1940 – February 11, 2015) was the Dwight Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. From 2002 to 2005, he served as a member of the Securities & Exchange Commission, where, though a Democrat, 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.

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. 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 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.

‘SEC Giant’

Samples of praise for his career...

Bloomberg News: As SEC general counsel in 1998 and 1999, Goldschmid provided the legal underpinning for two of Chairman Arthur Levitt’s major achievements: prohibiting public companies from selectively disclosing market-moving information and barring brokers from making political contributions to win municipal-bond business.

“Any of the great ideas coming out of the years that I was at the SEC almost always came from Harvey,” Levitt said. “He was one of the wisest, fairest, most creative lawyers that I have ever known.”

Wall Street Journal: “He will go down in history as one of the giants of the SEC,” said Arthur Levitt, who was SEC chairman while Mr. Goldschmid was a senior staffer there. Mr. Goldschmid was “the personification of the qualities of patriotism and scholarship,” Mr. Levitt said.

In a statement, SEC Chairman Mary Jo White called Mr. Goldschmid “a true public servant, whose commitment to this agency lived long past the days he spent working here.”