Gerald Laporte

Gerald J. Laporte has served as Chief of the Office of Small Business Policy at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since 2002. He haspracticed law in both the public and private sectors in Washington, D.C.since 1976. Before rejoining the SEC in 2002, he practiced securities andcorporate law with the firm of Hogan &Hartson LLP. He had worked at theSEC from 1982 to 1987 as Senior Special Counsel for the Legislation andInvestment Management Group in the Office of the General Counsel and asCounsel to SEC Commissioner Joseph A. Grundfest. In the 1970's, he hadworked as Legislative Assistant to a U.S. Congressman and served as LawClerk to U.S. District Judge John H. Pratt in Washington, D.C. Mr. Laporteserved as Chairman of the Corporation Finance and Securities Law Sectionof the District of Columbia Bar from 1997 to 1998.

Mr. Laporte holds a law degree, awarded with honors, from the GeorgeWashington University Law School, where he was Managing Editor of thelaw review. He also holds an M.A. degree in Political Science fromGeorgetown University, and degrees from the University of Ottawa,Canada, and Sacred Heart Seminary College, Detroit.