Throughout the week over at Securities Docket, I highlight the most interesting columns and blog posts from around the web on the subjects of SEC enforcement and securities litigation. Here is a digest of my picks for the week ending April 30:

FCPA Professor: Hiring a "Foreign Official" (Mike Koehler, FCPA Professor)FCPA Professor | April 30, 2010Hiring a "foreign official" can be risky. Particularly when the "foreign official" is recommended by a foreign government. These are certain FCPA "red flags." However, "red flags" don't always turn out red and in this case the "red flags" turn a pleasant shade of pink because the "foreign official" recommended by a foreign government is being hired in connection with a U.S. government contract. That at least appears to be one take-away from FCPA Opinion Procedure Release No. 10-01

SEC Cops Don't Need Guns, Badges on Their Beat (Russell G. Ryan, Bloomberg)Bloomberg | April 30, 2010Recent SEC initiatives and legislative proposals appear clearly designed to bring the SEC's enforcement processes more in line with those of a criminal prosecutor's office, and so far they have received a mostly enthusiastic reception. After all, the conventional wisdom seems to be, isn't it about time the SEC started getting tough on those greedy executives and treating them more like common thieves? Well, actually no.

THE SEC, GOLDMAN AND THE CRITICS: LET THE COURT DO ITS JOB (Thomas Gorman, SEC ACTIONS)SEC Actions | April 29, 2010It seems somewhat ironic that, after months of criticism from Capital Hill, the media and the public as the Commission worked to reorganize and rejuvenate its enforcement program, the filing of a high profile case has garnered such dismay. At the same time, if the agency did not bring significant cases tied to the causes of the market crisis - and the Goldman case clear goes to the root of much of what caused that crisis - the critics would no doubt be howling. As all the controversy swirls everyone seems to have lost sight of the fact that the function of the federal courts is to provide a forum for resolving the very questions that surround this case - either the SEC is right or Goldman is right. One of the parties will prevail. Everyone would do well be patient and let the court system do its job.

An SEC Attorney Weighs In . . . (Barry Ritholtz, The Big Picture)The Big Picture | April 27, 2010Over the weekend, I received several very informative emails from a former SEC attorney. "C" just gave me permission to reproduce it here. It is a little "inside baseball" as to the process of how the SEC decides to bring an action versus any company, more or less something as large and important as GS. Some of the language has been changed to maintain C's anonymity. Enjoy.

What to Watch at Senate's Hearing on Goldman (Peter J. Henning, DealBook)DealBook | April 27, 2010The impending Senate hearing on the role of Goldman Sachs in the financial crisis has opened up another front in the battle over whether the firm took unfair advantage of its position in the mortgage market to enlarge its profits while steering clients into losing investments.