Throughout the week over at Securities Docket, I highlight the most interesting columns and blog posts from around the web (on the subjects, predictably, of SEC enforcement and securities litigation). Here is a digest of my picks for the week ending January 15:

New SEC Rules - Commentary (Ellen Podgor, White Collar Crime Prof Blog)White Collar Crime Prof Blog | January 15, 2010The SEC has instituted a new initiative to provide for greater cooperation in hopes of encouraging individuals to assist in bringing to light improper activities. And cooperators may obtain a benefit of immunity in return for their cooperation. This initiative does raise some concerns, however.

Plaintiff's Securities Counsel: "Pay-to-Play" Practices? (Kevin LaCroix, The D & O Diary)The D&O Diary | January 15, 2010The financial relationship between plaintiffs’ securities firms and the clients they represent has long been questioned, and not only because of the kinds of improper kickback payments for which Bill Lerach and Mel Weiss, among others, wound up in jail. Another practice that has raised recurring concerns is what is referred to as "pay-to-play" – which in this context refers to the plaintiffs’ lawyers’ payment of political contributions to elected officials in charge of public pension funds, supposedly in exchange for the lawyers’ selection as the funds’ class action counsel.

But while these kinds of concerns are frequently raised, a preliminary question is often overlooked – that is, regardless of questions about the effect the practice might have on the counsel selection process, are the plaintiffs’ lawyers in fact making political donations to elected officials who have authority over public funds?

Post-Madoff, S.E.C. Rethinks Enforcement (Peter Henning, DealBook)DealBook | January 15, 2010The reorganization of the enforcement division is certainly necessary if the S.E.C. wants to overcome the black eye that Mr. Madoff gave it. Whether this is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic remains to be seen. Much like an N.F.L. draft, the effect of these changes will not seen for three to five years, when the financial crisis has faded from view and Congress quite possibly becomes less amenable to tough regulation of the markets. Mr. Khuzami is right that this still just a potential game-changer.

Led Zep Market Analysis (Barry Ritholtz, The Big Picture)The Big Picture | January 13, 2010Numerous Wall Street analysts, strategists, and economists over the years have managed to laden their commentary with references to their favorite bands, songs, sports teams, etc. It is all but unavoidable: Assume the average age of the senior echelons of most research departments are age 50-60; That leads us to a top level of management who all came of age during the 1960s & '70s - quite a prolific and influential period for music.

Plaintiffs Secrets Revealed! Proposals from Florida Pension Fund Beauty Contest Are Treasure Trove of Client and Fee Info (Alison Frankel, AmLaw Litig. Daily)AmLaw Litig. Daily | January 12, 2010We sincerely wish that every state pension fund would follow Florida's lead in picking a panel of plaintiffs firms for securities class actions. As we've previously reported, the Florida selection process has been conducted with unprecedented transparency, with even an anonymous letter accusing one contestant, Bernstein Liebhard, of financial impropriety made public. (Bernstein Liebhard will offer an equally public defense at a hearing scheduled for Thursday.) Now we've got our hands on the complete responses of 11 leading plaintiffs firms to Florida's detailed request for proposals, thanks to those good folks at the Florida State Board of Administration.

Could New Regs Bring More Lawsuits? (Sarah Johnson, CFO.com)CFO.com | January 11, 2010The number of securities class-action claims made in 2009 declined 24% from the previous year, according to a recent study by the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse and Cornerstone Research. A total of 169 claims were made in 2009, compared with 223 claims in 2008. However, the dip could be short-lived, depending on the outcome of regulatory-reform bills working their way through Congress.