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 July 22.

Where Does the SEC's Cooperation Initiative Stand?

Susan Beck, The Litigation Daily

Two-and-a-half years ago, Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami called a press conference to announce the agency's Cooperation Initiative, calling the new program “a potential game changer.” The SEC was adopting new tools to deal with companies that came forward with evidence of fraud or other wrongdoing in their ranks. Following the lead of the Department of Justice, the SEC could offer companies non-prosecution agreements or deferred prosecution agreements, instead of just the threat of civil actions.

But since that program was announced in January 2010, the SEC has entered into just three NPAs and one DPA, according to this mid-year report by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher….

U.S.-Listed Chinese Companies: Bump-Up Claims Up Next?

Kevin LaCroix, The D & O Diary

One of the most distinctive recent securities litigation trends has been the surge of litigation involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies. As a result of the litigation threat, as well as beaten-down market valuations, many Chinese companies are now taking steps to de-list from the U.S. exchanges. However, this step could entail its own set of litigation risks. Indeed, litigation relating to the de-listing could, according to a recent commentary, “become the next big trend in U.S. securities litigation.”

Fort Worth-based SEC lawyer Michael King calls the shots in Wal-Mart, Chesapeake inquiries

Mark Curriden, The Dallas Morning News

Few corporate executives have ever heard of Michael King. That is about to change.

An assistant director of enforcement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Fort Worth regional office, King is the lead lawyer in two of the federal government's biggest corporate financial investigations.

Zen and the Art of Third Party Compliance

Michael Varnum, The FCPA Blog

…The majority of corporate compliance officers believe they have their bases covered when it comes to compliance with the FCPA and UK Bribery Act. Yet, when it comes to third parties, their vetting procedures are less rigorous than those they implement for employees.

This is a problem when you consider that third parties are often the weakest link in the compliance chain.  Virtually every major FCPA case prosecuted over the last five years has focused on a bribe facilitated by an agent or third party to the parent company.

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