Gerald J. Laporte has served since 2002 as Chief of the Office of Small Business Policy in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation Finance. The office administers rules relating to limited securities offerings and disclosure to investors in smaller publicly traded companies.
Mr. Laporte has practiced law in Washington, D.C. since 1976. Before rejoining the SEC in 2002, he practiced securities and corporate law with the firm of Hogan & Hartson LLP. He had worked at the SEC from 1982 to 1987 as Senior Special Counsel for Legislation and Investment Management in the Office of the General Counsel and as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Joseph A. Grundfest. In the 1970's, he had worked as Legislative Assistant to a U.S. Congressman and served as Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge John H. Pratt in Washington, D.C. Mr. Laporte served as Chairman of the Corporation Finance and Securities Law Section of the District of Columbia Bar from 1997 to 1998.
Mr. Laporte holds a law degree, awarded with honors, from the George Washington University Law School, where he was Managing Editor of the law review. He also holds an M.A. degree in Political Science from Georgetown University, and degrees from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and Sacred Heart Seminary College, Detroit.