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 August 13.

The SEC properly expanded protection for attorney whistleblowers

NLJ | Lynne Bernabei and Alan R. Kabat | Aug 11, 2011

The recent Dodd-Frank regulations...continue the SEC's efforts to protect attorneys who seek statutory rewards for reporting securities violations from retaliation by their corporate employers, or discipline by state bars for breaching confidentiality. However, land mines still exist for attorneys who come from states with more restrictive rules about preserving client confidences. To be safe, before an attorney blows the whistle on his or her employer in order to seek a reward under Dodd-Frank, it is important that he or she understand the full set of exceptions to the attorney-client privilege that have been created by these two laws, and the limits of those exceptions.

How Serious a Crime Is Insider Trading?

DealBook | Peter J. Henning | Aug 10, 2011

As could be expected, the sentencing memos submitted by Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge fund manager convicted of insider trading charges, and by federal prosecutors paint very different pictures of the defendant. At their core, the two filings put forth quite contrary views about just how serious the crime of insider trading is and what is an appropriate punishment for an offense that often involves successful individuals who can argue they did not mean to cause any real harm.

Preet Bharara: The enforcer of Wall Street

Fortune | William D. Cohan | Aug 9, 2011

Neil Barofksy, who worked with Bharara as a prosecutor in the Southern District and who just completed two years as the special inspector general of the TARP program, says he believes Bharara has changed the rules of the road on Wall Street. "It scared the hell out of people," he says. "It's the thinking twice about doing the transaction because there's so many different potential ways now of getting caught. Your cellphone is not safe. Your instant message isn't safe. [He] sent a message: 'Not only are we going to get you, but you're not going to be able to cover your tracks.' Preet has really taken advantage of a unique opportunity to use these tools to make a significant difference on how people approach their jobs on Wall Street."

Don't Gut the S.E.C.

New York Times | Arthur Levitt Jr. | Aug 8, 2011

Whether or not these bills pass, we are witnessing a pattern of Congress's grabbing the steering wheel of an independent agency. Dodd-Frank imposed upon the S.E.C. new procedures that should have been left to the discretion of the agency's leadership. Congress has criticized the S.E.C.'s investigation of Ponzi schemes but then has neglected to adequately finance its investigations.

Bernstein Litowitz: 15 partners on a summer-long hot streak

News & Insight | Alison Frankel | Aug 6, 2011

It's almost impossible to believe that the firm has only 15 partners and 55 lawyers; just drafting the Dexia, TIAA-CREF, and Countrywide complaints must have taken untold hours. But in an interview Friday, founding partner Berger told me Bernstein Litowitz is tiny by design. The firm doesn't want to be a volume player, cranking out putative class actions every time a company's share price tanks. It cultivates serious institutional investor clients and carefully picks its battles, Berger said. "We don't want to bring every case," Berger said. "And everyone here works incredibly hard."

.

Topics