Jeffrey T. Dinwoodie

Jeffrey T. Dinwoodie is a partner in the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. He previously served as Chief Counsel to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and as Head of the Office of Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Mr. Dinwoodie’s practice focuses on advising clients across the financial services sector on a broad range of regulatory, transactional and enforcement matters. He also regularly advises leading trade organizations on policy and advocacy initiatives. Mr. Dinwoodie’s work spans both traditional finance and innovation-related and cryptoasset issues.

Mr. Dinwoodie joined Cravath in 2023 from JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he was a member of the Corporate and Investment Bank’s Legal Department. He advised the firm’s Markets and Investment Banking businesses and lawyers on a broad range of issues. This included advice on traditional transactions and products, as well as the use of emerging technologies and products (e.g., blockchain and cryptoassets). He also regularly advised senior firm leaders on regulatory strategy and engagement.

From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Dinwoodie held senior positions at the SEC and the Treasury Department. At the SEC, he served as Chairman Jay Clayton's Chief Counsel and, earlier, as Chairman Clayton's Trading and Markets Counsel. Mr. Dinwoodie led and advised on a wide array of regulatory, examination and enforcement matters during a period of significant agency activity. He also managed and coordinated the SEC’s efforts to prepare for and respond to emerging market risks, working closely with leadership and staff at the U.S. banking regulators, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury Department. Mr. Dinwoodie was the SEC’s Deputy Representative to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. He was also a member of the SEC’s COVID‑19 Market Monitoring Group, a senior-level group that managed the agency’s response to COVID‑19.

At the Treasury Department, Mr. Dinwoodie served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions. As the leader of Treasury’s Office of Financial Institutions, he managed offices focused on regulatory and policy issues in the areas of banking, insurance, fintech/digital assets and community and economic development. Mr. Dinwoodie was deeply engaged in Treasury’s efforts to respond to the economic effects of COVID-19, including leading the Treasury team operationalizing the $9 billion Emergency Capital Investment Program. He received Treasury’s Distinguished Service Award.

From 2011 to 2017, Mr. Dinwoodie was an associate in the financial institutions group at another law firm, representing clients on securities and derivatives matters before the SEC, FINRA and the CFTC.

Mr. Dinwoodie began his legal career in 2008 as an attorney in the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets. He was engaged in the day-to-day work of the Division, including rulemaking and advising on, negotiating and preparing responses to market participants’ no action, exemptive and interpretive requests. Mr. Dinwoodie also served as a core member of the agency’s Dodd-Frank Implementation Team, focusing on the Title VII derivatives regime. He received the SEC’s Law and Policy Award for his contributions to implementing Dodd-Frank.

Throughout his career, Mr. Dinwoodie has been a frequent speaker and writer on financial regulation issues. He has spoken at events organized by the American Bar Association, the Practicing Law Institute, the Milken Institute and the Financial Markets Association, among others. Mr. Dinwoodie’s writing has appeared in various law reviews, as well as in compliance and investment industry publications such as GlobalCapital, Compliance Reporter and Traders.

Mr. Dinwoodie was born on Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. He received a B.S. from George Mason University in 2005, where he was a pitcher on the University’s Division I baseball team, and a J.D. magna cum laude from American University Washington College of Law in 2008.