SEC Economist Vacancies May Aid Legal Challenges of Dodd-Frank

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has begun drafting more than 100 rules required by the Dodd-Frank Act with a vacancy atop the office that helps ensure its regulations can withstand court challenges.

The SEC has been without a chief economist since James Overdahl stepped down in March, and two candidates for the job that pays as much as $230,700 a year have fallen through, three people familiar with the matter said. As she presses the search, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro is seeking recommendations from former agency chief economists and has reversed a decision she made in 2009 that reduced the position’s prestige.