Sporkin served in a number of roles with the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1961 to 1981. He was a staff attorney of the SEC Special Studies of the Securities Markets from 1961 to 1963; in the SEC Division of Trading and Markets in 1963; Chief of the SEC Branch of Enforcement from 1963 to 1966; Chief Enforcement Attorney of the SEC Office of Enforcement from 1966 to 1967; Assistant Director (Enforcement) for SEC from 1967 to 1968; Associate Director (Enforcement) for SEC from 1968 to 1972; and Deputy Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement from 1972 to 1974. Sporkin served as the Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement from 1974 to 1981,[4] where he led lawyers in enforcement actions against Gulf, Exxon, Mobil, Lockheed, R.J. Reynolds, and 3M, among others.[1] One of Sporkin's first major SEC cases led to the 1974 conviction of George Steinbrenner for illegal campaign contributions,[1] and he became an advocate for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enacted in 1977.[1]
Following his retirement from the bench, Sporkin became affiliated with Weil, Gotshal & Manges and embarked on a private law practice. Sporkin was a member of the Gavel Consulting Group, a private consultancy that consists of several former federal judges and high-ranking government officials. He was in charge of the BP America Ombudsman Team,[7] working from Chevy Chase, Maryland.[1]
On March 23, 2020, Sporkin died after suffering from congestive heart failure in Rockville, Maryland. He was 88 years old. He leaves behind a wife and three children.[1]
^Eisinger, Jesse (2017). The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 63–82. ISBN9781501121364.