Ken Lench Named PCAOB General Counsel

JDG and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today are pleased to announce that Kenneth Lench has been named the PCAOB’s General Counsel. In this role, Mr. Lench will provide legal advice and counsel to the Board regarding all PCAOB operations and activities.

Mr. Lench is currently a partner in Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s Government, Regulatory, and Internal Investigations Practice Group where he focuses on securities law.  Prior to joining Kirkland in 2013, Mr. Lench served for more than 23 years in several positions at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In his last role at the SEC he served as Chief of the Structured and New Products Unit of the Division of Enforcement.  Mr. Lench previously held various senior positions at the SEC’s Enforcement Division including assistant director, assistant chief counsel, branch chief, and senior counsel.  He also served in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance.  Before joining the SEC, Mr. Lench was in private practice. 

Mr. Lench earned his B.A., cum laude, from Brandeis University and his J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.