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On Thursday, President Obama tapped White to run the SEC as its next commissioner, a powerful role as Wall Street's top regulator and cop. If she is confirmed by Congress, the agency will have at its helm a well-respected attorney who won high-profile cases against mobsters, terrorists and financial fraudsters over the course of nearly a decade as the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan.

The agency would also gain a powerful defense lawyer, one who has represented many of the biggest names on Wall Street -- including former Bank of America chief Ken Lewis -- in cases before the SEC.