In a speech yesterday before the New York City Bar Association marking the end of his first 100 days as Director of the SEC Division of Enforcement, Robert Khuzami formally announced several important changes to the Enforcement program. The speech is not yet available online but the new initiatives reportedly include the following:

Streamlined formal order process. Presently, the Enforcement Division must request a formal order (which provides the staff with subpoena power) from the Commission itself, which can be a lengthy process. However, under a newly implemented Rule (available here), the Commission has now amended its rules to "delegate authority to the Director of the Division of Enforcement to issue formal orders of investigation." The effect of this change may be dramatic. As Khuzami put it in his remarks, "if defense counsel resist the voluntary production of documents or witnesses, or fail to be complete and timely in responses or engage in dilatory tactics, there will very likely be a subpoena on your desk the next morning."

The formation of five specialized units within the Enforcement Division. The five new specialty units are asset management, structured products, municipal securities and public pensions, foreign corrupt practices and market abuse. A sixth specialized group focused on subprime mortgage abuses already exists.

Increased scrutiny of "tolling agreements." Khuzami announced that he will require his staff to get his permission in advance of any tolling agreements, in which subjects of investigations are asked to give the SEC more time to look into suspected misconduct than statute of limitations typically allow. Such agreements are becoming far too common, he said, and may undermine the SEC's "message of prompt accountability."

Elimination of branch chiefs. The branch chief position, which is the lowest and largest tier of management in the Enforcement Division, is being eliminated. Khuzami said some current branch managers will become front-line investigators, and others may be promoted to the position of assistant director.

Creation of an Office of Market Intelligence. Khuzami announced that this new office will be responsible for collecting, analyzing and monitoring the hundreds of thousands of tips the SEC receives each year.

UPDATE: A copy of SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami’s “First 100 Days” speech from August 5, 2009 is available here.