Reed Picks NYSE Probe Leader

Dan K. Webb, a former federal prosecutor who has defended Microsoft Corp. and General Electric Co., has been hired to lead a probe of the New York Stock Exchange’s pay and governance, people familiar with the matter said.

Interim NYSE Chairman John S. Reed brought in Webb after demands from exchange members and state treasurers for an audit of NYSE operations under former Chairman Richard Grasso. Grasso was ousted last month amid criticism that his salary and retirement package of nearly $188 million compromised his role as a regulator.

Reed “wants to find out if there’s any wrongdoing,” said Pennsylvania Treasurer Barbara Hafer, who met with Reed last week. “He wants to get all the information out so there are no surprises. The board was either asleep at the switch or complicit.”

Webb, 58, a partner at Chicago-based Winston & Strawn, will examine the board decisions and conflicts that led to Grasso’s exit, the sources said.

Webb did not return calls for comment. Winston & Strawn Chairman James Thompson and NYSE spokesman Ray Pellecchia declined to comment.

Webb was voted the nation’s top white-collar criminal defense lawyer in a survey of attorneys this year by Corporate Crime Reporter, a national weekly legal newsletter.

Webb defended Microsoft in 2002 against antitrust claims brought by regulators and won a price-fixing case for GE in 1994. He also handled former GE Chief Executive Jack Welch’s divorce.