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 January 18.

SEC Enforcement: Rhetoric and Reality

By John C. Coffee, Jr., CLS Blue Sky Blog

On January 14, Robert S. Khuzami and George S. Canellos published their response in the National Law Journal to my earlier column, “SEC Enforcement:  What Has Gone Wrong?”  Their column—“Unfair Claims, Untenable Solution”(available here)—minces no words, but in my judgment continues to miss the forest for the trees.  In responding, I want to emphasize that I am criticizing policies, not individuals.  I have no doubt that both men are able lawyers who have worked hard to improve the SEC's performance.

Unfair claims, untenable solution

Robert S. Khuzami and George S. Canellos, National Law Journal

In his December 3, 2012, column, "SEC enforcement: What has gone wrong?," Columbia Law School professor John C. Coffee Jr. makes a series of claims about U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement cases. These claims are inaccurate and paint a distorted picture of an enforcement program that has achieved record results in recent years. As a solution to the problems he sees, Coffee proposes that the SEC outsource its biggest cases to private contingency-fee lawyers — a suggestion that ignores critical differences between the SEC's goals as a regulator and those of a litigant seeking monetary damages.

SEC enforcement: What has gone wrong?

By John C. Coffee, Jr., CLS Blue Sky Blog

The SEC is now on the brink of a major transition, and it is time for a reappraisal. Although the SEC is one of the strongest, smartest agencies in Washington, some tasks are beyond its natural grasp. The public at large wants accountability at large financial institutions, not the issuance of parking tickets for fraud. The Center for Audit Quality's Sixth Annual Main Street Investor Survey has just found that 61 percent of investors “have no confidence in governmental regulators.” Some at the commission (particularly Commissioner Luis Aguilar) appear to be recognizing this problem and are calling for greater individual accountability. But the public's confidence seems likely to be restored only if the SEC can find a way to staff the large “megacase.” That is precisely what the private bar can do well. If you cannot beat them, hire them!

Top Ten Enforcement Actions for 2012

Thomas Fox, FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog

As we welcome in 2013, it is appropriate to reflect back on some of the things which have occurred over 2012 and in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement world, it was quite a significant year. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) both have used enforcement actions to educate compliance professionals on several different aspects of the FCPA and FCPA compliance. This is my list of what I believe to be the most significant enforcement actions over the past year and the lessons which can be drawn from them.

SEC Enforcement Of The FCPA: Year In ReviewMike Koehler, FCPA Professor

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, it is not just about the DOJ.  Granted, as a civil enforcement agency its sticks are less sharp than the DOJ's, but the SEC also claims a significant piece of the FCPA enforcement pie (query whether it should – but that is a subject for another day – for instance as discussed in “The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” the SEC wanted no part in enforcing the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions). Today's post is a year in review of SEC FCPA Enforcement….

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