In late November when speculation began to build that Mary Schapiro would soon announce her departure from the SEC (which she did on November 26), I wrote a post on this blog on Who Will Be the Next SEC Chairman? At the time, Mary John Miller, the Treasury Department's under secretary for domestic finance, was said to be the leading candidate, but at least eight other names were being discussed in the press, as well (Walter, Khuzami, Barofsky, Goldschmid, and several others). Two months later, one name that I did not see mentioned anywhere before now seems to have emerged as the new leading candidate to become Chairman of the SEC: Mary Jo White.

White has an extensive background as a federal prosecutor.  She was the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1993 to 2002 -- and she remains the only woman to have ever held that position in the more than 200-year history of that office. As U.S. Attorney, White supervised over 200 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in enforcing federal criminal and civil laws, including complex securities and other white collar cases. In 2002, White left government service and rejoined the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, where she became Chair of the firm's Litigation Department. 

The WSJ reports that White appears likely to be President Obama's selection to replace Schapiro, "possibly within weeks." The WSJ notes that:

White has told her partners at Debevoise that she may be leaving the firm;

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun the background-check process on White, "which typically occurs only after the administration has made a decision;" and

White House officials have reportedly begun asking senators whether White would face a tough approval process.

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