J. Russell “Rusty” McGranahan is a veteran corporate and securities lawyer who has spent about 30 years in private practice, financial services, and government. He most recently served as General Counsel of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Before that, he was General Counsel of Focus Financial Partners, a large wealth‑management firm, where he led legal work on its 2018 IPO and 2023 go‑private deal. Earlier, he spent nine years at asset‑manager BlackRock as Managing Director, M&A Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, after starting his career as a mergers‑and‑acquisitions and corporate lawyer at the law firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and White & Case. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, a B.A. in economics and politics (summa cum laude) from the Catholic University of America, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
Public reporting on the SEC’s announcement states that J. Russell McGranahan “has been named” SEC General Counsel as of Jan. 15, 2026, but does not clearly specify the exact effective start date or describe the role as interim; he is described simply as the new (permanent) General Counsel. Without the full SEC release text, the precise effective date cannot be confirmed from available sources.
McGranahan succeeds Megan Barbero as the SEC’s General Counsel. Barbero, who had served as General Counsel since February 2023, left the agency on Jan. 20, 2025, according to the SEC’s departure announcement. After her departure, longtime SEC lawyer Jeffrey Finnell was appointed Acting General Counsel in January 2025 and served in that acting role until McGranahan’s appointment, after which he remained at the SEC as Deputy General Counsel. Public statements do not provide a detailed reason beyond describing Barbero’s move as a departure from the agency.
The SEC General Counsel is the agency’s chief legal officer. According to the SEC’s announcement, the General Counsel oversees the provision of legal expertise and advice to the Office of the Chairman, the Commissioners, and SEC staff across the agency. In practice, this role leads the Office of the General Counsel, supervises interpretation and defense of the federal securities laws and SEC rules, advises on rulemaking and policy, helps coordinate the agency’s positions in court and in appeals, and works closely with the enforcement, examinations, and corporate‑finance divisions on legally significant matters.
Yes. The press‑release version distributed via Newsfile and PublicNow includes a short biography: it notes that McGranahan recently served as General Counsel of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), previously was General Counsel of Focus Financial Partners, spent nine years at BlackRock as Managing Director, M&A Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, and began his career at Skadden, Arps and White & Case, including three years in Eastern Europe working on some of the first IPOs from the region. It also discloses his education (Yale Law School J.D.; Catholic University B.A., summa cum laude, in economics and politics) and that he holds the CFA designation. The release does not list any specific conflicts‑of‑interest disclosures beyond this employment history.
The appointment could influence how the SEC implements and legally defends its enforcement and regulatory agenda, because the General Counsel advises on rulemaking, litigation strategy, and how far to push interpretations of the securities laws. Coverage of McGranahan’s selection notes that it comes as the SEC is weighing an “ambitious regulatory agenda” on issues such as crypto assets and shareholder‑rights rules, suggesting his office will shape how those policies are crafted and defended. Any future guidance, rulemakings, or shifts in enforcement priorities will be announced through the SEC’s normal channels: rule proposals and adoptions in the Federal Register and on sec.gov, speeches and statements by Commissioners and senior staff, and enforcement‑action press releases.