GW Alumnus Honored as Top Lawyer of the Year

Attorney Joseph Babits, B.A.'85, M.B.A' 88, was recently selected as Top Lawyer of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for his outstanding leadership, dedication and commitment to the industry.

Babits has more than 30 years of professional experience in national securities law. Serving with Shell USA Inc. as lead U.S. securities counsel and associate counsel, he represents Shell in interactions with government entities, ensuring full compliance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Babits is adept in international securities regulations within the European market, particularly in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Before his current role, Babits served with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., as an attorney adviser and special counsel in its Division of Corporate Finance between 1991 and 1997. He went on to work with Morgan Lewis & Bockius as an associate in its securities group for the following year. Babits returned to the SEC in 1998, where he was recognized as special counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel, then served as counsel to Commissioner Issac C. Hunt from 1999 to 2002. Babits then returned to the Division of Corporate Finance where he helped negotiate the corporate governance rules of the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ and served as the principal drafter of non-GAAP rules.