PHILADELPHIA – Stradley Ronon announced today that David W. Grim and Sara P. Crovitz have joined the firm as partners in its Washington, DC office. Grim was most recently Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management. Crovitz was most recently Deputy Chief Counsel and Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. The Division protects investors and promotes capital formation through oversight of the nation's multi-trillion dollar asset management industry.
Grim spent more than 20 years in public service at the SEC, joining the Division directly from law school and rising to become its leader. He is a recognized leader in the asset management industry, having developed a legacy of regulatory policy reforms and legal guidance that shaped the Division and the industry it regulates. As Director, Grim was responsible for developing regulatory policy for investment advisers and investment companies, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, business development companies, unit investment trusts, and variable insurance products, and oversaw the Division’s relationships with other key functions at the SEC, including the Division of Enforcement and the National Exam Program.
Crovitz has more than 20 years of experience at the SEC. In her most recent position, Crovitz worked with a team of over 50 attorneys in issuing exemptive orders, no-action/interpretive letters, IM Guidance Updates and other written and oral guidance, including guidance related to MiFID, clean shares and auditor independence. She also led the Division's international obligations including IOSCO and FSB work streams.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dave and Sara. Their arrival marks the latest strategic hires for our market-leading practice,” said Stradley Ronon Investment Management Group Co-Chair Bruce G. Leto. “They bring impressive SEC backgrounds and experience that dovetail well with our regulatory capabilities, and we are confident our clients will benefit greatly from their skillsets.”
“Just as I am proud to have served for 22 years at one of the best places to work in the federal government, I am similarly proud to join Stradley Ronon, with its highly respected reputation, extensive client base, and warm culture,” said Grim. “I look forward to working with Sara and my outstanding new colleagues to share my unique perspective with Stradley Ronon’s asset management clients.”
“I am thrilled to join Stradley Ronon, a firm with deep roots in the investment industry. The firm’s investment management practice is an impressive and talented group,” said Crovitz. “I look forward to partnering with them and Dave on behalf of clients and providing those clients with valuable regulatory counsel that helps their businesses thrive in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing environment.”
“Dave and Sara’s hiring augments our premier investment management practice group and helps to achieve our goal of adding accomplished attorneys with the knowledge and expertise that our clients find valuable,” said Stradley Ronon Chairman William R. Sasso. “Stradley Ronon has long been known for its top-tier investment management practice, and Dave and Sara’s years of SEC experience handling complex legal matters and providing high-quality guidance will further strengthen our significant reputation in this area.”
Grim joined the Division in 1995 as a Staff Attorney in the Office of Investment Company Regulation. In 1998, he moved to the Division’s Office of Chief Counsel, where he held a variety of positions, including being named Assistant Chief Counsel in 2007. Grim was appointed as Deputy Director of the Division in January 2013. He was named Acting Director and then Director of the Division in 2015.
Before entering his career in public service, Grim graduated cum laude with a degree in political science from Duke University and received his law degree from George Washington University, where he was managing editor of the George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics.
Crovitz joined the SEC in 1996 as an Attorney in the Office of General Counsel. In 1999, she joined the Division of Investment Management as a Senior Counsel in the Office of Investment Company Regulation; and later became a Senior Counsel, a Branch Chief, and an Assistant Chief Counsel in the Chief Counsel’s Office, prior to her most recent SEC position. Before the SEC, Crovitz was an Associate with Steptoe & Johnson from 1994-1996.
Crovitz received her law degree and bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago. Among other honors, Crovitz received the Chair’s International Award in 2014, the Chair’s Excellence in Leadership Award in 2011, and the Martha Platt Award in 2010.
Stradley Ronon maintains one of the premier investment management practices in the United States, representing investment company clients with more than 1,500 separate funds and assets under management exceeding $2 trillion, including several of the top 20 investment company complexes in the country by assets under management. The group, named by Law360 as an Asset Management Practice Group of the Year, represents retail and institutional investment companies marketing shares through every distribution channel, as well as managers, administrators and underwriters/distributors.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in eight strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.