Alicia L. Lewis Named as Special Counsel to CFTC Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam

​The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that Alicia L. Lewis has rejoined Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam's office and will serve as his Special Counsel. Having worked at the CFTC since 2009, Lewis is the fourth African American in the CFTC's history to hold such a position.

Beginning at 2017, Lewis has acted as the Designated Federal Officer for the commission's Market Risk Advisory Committee for which Acting Chairman Behnam is the sponsor. From 2017 to 2019, Lewis was a member of then-Commissioner Behnam's legal team where she was responsible for clearing and international regulatory matters. Most recently, Lewis served as Special Counsel in the Office of International Affairs (OIA), where she focused on international clearing initiatives, cooperative arrangements with European authorities, and represented the CFTC in international standard setting bodies such as CPMI-IOSCO.

Prior to joining OIA, Lewis held the role of Special Counsel in the International and Domestic Clearing Initiatives and Chief Counsel Branches of the Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR). While in DCR, Lewis covered numerous clearing matters including central counterparty (CCP) recovery and wind down, CCP resolution, and served as the representative of the CFTC at U.S. CCP crisis management groups. In addition, she acted as team leader for the CFTC's Dodd-Frank Act Governance and Conflicts of Interest rulemakings.

Before the CFTC, Lewis' career encompasses the stint as Interim Legal Counsel at the Managed Funds Association where she monitored and commented on regulatory developments affecting the alternative investment industry at U.S. financial regulatory agencies. Lewis kicked off her legal career by serving as an associate in the Securities Enforcement and Investment Management practices at K&L Gates and spent eight years at the law firm. Licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (inactive status), Lewis previously worked on investment company audit engagements at Price Waterhouse LLP.