SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce to Join Regent Law Faculty

Regent Law Names Hester Peirce to Faculty Role

Regent University School of Law announced on May 19, 2026, that Hester M. Peirce will join its faculty in November 2026 as an associate professor. The appointment sets the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner’s next role at the Virginia Beach law school.

Peirce will join Regent Law after a career spanning financial regulation, public policy, securities law, and capital markets research. Regent Law said her appointment expands faculty depth in securities regulation, financial markets, administrative governance, public policy, digital assets, and professional formation. Her background also adds regulatory experience tied to markets, innovation, and institutional governance.

Regent Law also named Gregory F. Jacob senior associate dean and associate professor before the dean’s remarks. Jacob will join in the fall semester after senior legal roles at the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Labor. Jacob also served as counsel to Vice President Mike Pence and deputy assistant to the president. As solicitor of labor, he oversaw significant litigation under more than 180 federal labor and employment laws. Together, the appointments strengthen the school’s focus on legal service in complex public and economic institutions.

Dean S. Ernie Walton said:

“Greg Jacob and Hester Peirce have served at the highest levels of law, government, and public life.”

SEC Crypto Role Shapes Peirce’s Next Chapter

Peirce has served as an SEC commissioner since 2018. The SEC website says President Donald J. Trump appointed her, and she was sworn in on January 11, 2018. It lists her term as expiring in 2025 and identifies her as leader of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force. The SEC website also says Peirce worked at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, now WilmerHale, and clerked for Judge Roger Andewelt on the Court of Federal Claims.

The SEC website now lists Paul S. Atkins as chairman since 2025, with Peirce and Mark T. Uyeda as commissioners. It shows Peirce’s term expiring in 2025, but SEC policy allows commissioners to keep serving for about 18 months after their terms expire if no replacement is confirmed. That holdover period explains why Peirce remains listed as a commissioner after her stated term expiration.

Commissioner Mark Uyeda previously said:

“I look forward to the efforts of Commissioner Peirce to lead regulatory policy on crypto, which involves multiple SEC divisions and offices.”

Digital asset advocates often refer to Peirce as “ Crypto Mom” for her criticism of regulation by enforcement. Her Crypto Task Force role places her at the center of the SEC’s shift toward clearer frameworks, industry engagement, realistic compliance paths, and targeted enforcement. The task force’s work includes crypto taxonomy, secondary market trading, custody, digital asset status, and potential product features for crypto exchange-traded products. Its agenda also includes questions around staking, in-kind creations, redemptions, disclosure requirements, and market structure.

The task force’s separation from the SEC Enforcement Division signals a policy focus on frameworks, disclosure standards, and industry collaboration. Peirce’s safe harbor concept would give token teams time to reach network maturity before facing full securities registration obligations. She has argued that crypto firms need practical compliance routes, public guidance, and rules designed for blockchain-based markets instead of retroactive enforcement actions.