Judging from the countless "out of the office" email replies I've received over the past two weeks, I think it is safe to say that the holiday-friendly calendar this year has allowed many to take a well-deserved break after a sometimes trying year. For those of you who have been in and out of the office (mostly out) over the last two weeks of December, here are the 10 things you need to know to get caught up:

12/22: SEC filed a settled enforcement action against UnitedHealth, and stated in its Litigation Release that it chose not to seek a fraud injunction against the company or a financial penalty based on the "extraordinary" cooperation of UnitedHealth. The SEC provided a detailed outline of the steps the company took, which should be helpful guidance to issuers and encourage cooperation in the future.

12/22: On December 22, Phyllis Molchatsky, a 61-year-old retiree from Valley Cottage, NY, who lost nearly $2 million investing with Bernard Madoff, filed a claim against the SEC. Her administrative claim alleges that the SEC was negligent in failing to detect alleged Madoff’s alleged fraud, the WSJ reports, and seeks $1.7 million in damages. Legal experts such as Professor Erwin Chemerinsky say that they do not see a viable suit for money damages against the United States (including the SEC) because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

12/24: Although Congress and many others have criticized the SEC for its passivity in the face of the financial crisis, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox stated that, to the contrary, the SEC’s “calmness” has been a “signal achievement:”

“What we have done in this current turmoil is stay calm, which has been our greatest contribution — not being impulsive, not changing the rules willy-nilly, but going through a very professional and orderly process that takes into account unintended consequences and gives ample notice to market participants,” Cox said. This caution, he added, “has really been a signal achievement for the SEC.”

12/25: The NY Times reported that according to new research data, there were 133 prosecutions for securities fraud in the first 11 months of this fiscal year, down from 437 cases in 2000 and from a high of 513 cases in 2002. In addition, at the SEC, agency investigations that led to DOJ prosecutions for securities fraud dropped from 69 in 2000 to just 9 in 2007, a decline of 87 percent.

12/26: With the number of class actions against Bernard Madoff rising daily, Kevin LaCroix of the D&O Diary introduced “The List: Madoff Investor and Feeder Fund Litigation,” a table of all of the Madoff-related lawsuits that have been filed to date.

12/29: Securities Docket launched its new "Securities Litigation and Enforcement Channel," and announced two upcoming webcasts to kick things off:

Jan. 6, 2 pm Eastern: "The 2008 Year in Review--Securities Litigation and Enforcement"This webcast will provide a review of the most important developments in 2008, and a look ahead to 2009. Panelists include several of the leading bloggers in the securities litigation and SEC enforcement world, including Walter Olson (Point of Law; Overlawyered), Kevin LaCroix (The D&O Diary); Tom Gorman (SEC Actions), and Francine McKenna (re: the Auditors). And me.

Jan. 14, 2 pm Eastern: "Madoff Litigation--Can the Lost Billions be Recovered? How?"This webcast will address the key questions arising from Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion scheme, such as how much money has been lost? Where did it go? What avenues of possible recovery exist and what are the chances of success? Who is entitled to recover? Panelists are Gerald Silk of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP; Brad Friedman of Milberg LLP; and Dr. Fred Dunbar of NERA Economic Consulting.

To attend either of these free webcasts, please sign up here: http://www.securitiesdocket.com/webcasts

12/30: The SEC announced that after 14 years of service, Susan G. Markel, Chief Accountant for the Division of Enforcement, will leave the agency in January to become a Managing Director in the Corporate Investigations practice of AlixPartners LLP, a global business advisory firm.

12/31: Bernard Madoff provided the SEC with a list of his personal assets, meeting the court-ordered deadline of Dec. 31. The SEC confirmed receipt of the list on Wednesday, but it declined to reveal details or make the documents available to journalists. According to a subsequent report, the list provided on December 31 hasn’t revealed any major sources of additional cash.

12/31: The stock market closed with the following year-end numbers:

DJIA down 33.84%, the worst since 1931, third-worst in history;

S&P 500 down 38.49%, the worst since 1937; and

The Nasdaq Composite Index down 40.54%, the worst in history.

1/2: The SEC is reportedly pursuing at least one new Ponzi scheme case in which investors may have been cheated out of as much as $1 billion.

So that's it, you are now completely caught up. Thank you for reading Enforcement Action in 2008, and here's wishing all of you a great and prosperous 2009!