REGULATION

Third Prominent SEC Official Resigns: One of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s most powerful staff members, Linda Quinn, said she plans to leave after 16 years with the agency to join the New York law firm of Shearman & Sterling. Quinn is the third top SEC official to resign in three months. Several SEC observers were surprised by the announcement. Agency officials said there was no connection between her departure and those of SEC general counsel Simon Lorne and market regulation director Brandon Becker, who announced their departures in November. Quinn oversaw the SEC’s corporate finance division since 1986. Quinn’s office rarely was in the public spotlight, but it plays a critical role in the SEC. Its staff reviews thousands of corporate documents yearly to ensure that the public was properly informed about initial public offerings and merger bids.