Mary Jo White - Oral History

Mary Jo White served as the 31st Chair of the SEC from 2013 to 2017. She is now the Senior Chair at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City. Prior to joining the SEC, she was the Chair of Debevoise and Plimpton’s Litigation Department for 10 years. She previously was a litigation partner at the firm from 1983 to 1990 and worked as an associate from 1976 to 1978.
Chair White was the first woman to be the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, serving from 1993 to 2002. Prior to that, she served as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney and later Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1990 to 1993. She previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1978 to 1981 and became Chief Appellate Attorney of the Criminal Division.
Chair White earned her undergraduate degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from William & Mary in 1970, and her master’s degree in psychology from The New School for Social Research in 1971. She earned her law degree in 1974 at Columbia Law School and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marvin E. Frankel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
This oral history was made possible with the generous support of Debevoise and Plimpton, LLP, Baker McKenzie, and Charles River Associates.
Recorded December 15, 2022