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 June 10.

Breakingviews: Picard aims for triple-word score in Madoff case

News & Insight | Reynolds Holding | Jun 10, 2011

Irving Picard is aiming for a triple-word score in the Bernard Madoff case. He's not playing Scrabble, but the trustee for the Ponzi schemer's victims is trying for treble damages of $59 billion by suing Madoff's Italian and Austrian banks for racketeering. Though the novel tack raises issues that a judge on June 6 agreed to resolve, Picard has again shown a creative touch in beating the bushes for cash.

'Show trials' in UK distract from the failure of the regulators

Independent.ie | Matthew Lynn | Jun 9, 2011

The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) are pursuing two high-profile investigations into alleged insider-dealing rings. In March, prosecutors secured a rare prison sentence against a former stockbroker. Why now? For years, traders in the financial markets stood more risk of getting struck by lightning on the golf course than they did of being arrested for swapping a few share tips on the same fairways.... In reality, the regulators are responding to a public mood that has turned hostile to bankers.

A Shot Across the FCPA Bow: SEC Provides Targeting Clues

White Collar Defense & Compliance | Michael Volkov | Jun 9, 2011

In a telephone conference call sponsored by the ABA, Lorin Reisner, Deputy Director of Enforcement at the SEC, disclosed that the SEC is relying on data analytics and industry-specific risk analysis to initiate FCPA investigations. Reisner's disclosure is extremely significant because he specifically explained that investigations initiated as a result of voluntary disclosures by companies constitute a smaller percentage of the SEC's investigations.... Instead of relying on voluntary disclosures, the SEC is using proactive techniques to identify risk areas where industries may be engaged in bribery.

Class action gadfly Ted Frank puts his money where his mouth is

News & Insight | Alison Frankel | Jun 8, 2011

But no one can accuse Ted Frank of not putting his money where his mouth is. Last week, in anticipation of what he is absolutely certain will be the U.S. Supreme Court's decertification of the biggest gender discrimination class action in history, Frank invested 10 percent of his net worth in Wal-Mart options contracts, betting that when the Court issues its ruling in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, Wal-Mart's stock price will bounce up—and he'll be able to retire from the class action objection biz a little earlier.

The Most Feared Man at the SEC

National Law Journal | Jenna Greene | Jun 8, 2011

H. David Kotz knows what it's like to have all conversation stop the moment he steps into a crowded elevator at work and resume the moment he exits. But the inspector general of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission isn't much concerned with being popular. He said he's far more interested in "rolling up my sleeves in a matter and trying to figure out what happened."

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