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 May 28:

Canada: The feds’ weak case for a federal securities regulator

National Post | Jun 1, 2010

The tea leaves have been read. The entrails have been poked and prodded. And now the mavens of constitutional divination have furnished us with an answer — the feds will prevail in their upcoming Reference to the Supreme Court of Canada. They will finally and unambiguously prove that they have the constitutional jurisdiction to set up a federal securities regulator. I demur. The feds are going down. Big time.

LESSONS FROM THE PEQUOT INVESTIGATION

SEC Actions | Jun 1, 2010

Things are not always as they seem. This sage maxim has been cited many times in different contexts. The resolution of Pequot insider trading investigation last week, along with the earlier scandal the initial inquiry generated, is a good illustration of how this principle applies in SEC investigations.

Out of Prison, Living in Luxury

Don Bauder, San Diego Reader | May 26, 2010

Bill Lerach and his firms paid fat kickbacks to shifty characters to become plaintiffs in those lawsuits. That was illegal, landing Lerach in prison. Now he is out, residing comfortably in one of the county’s most luxurious spreads, a cliffside villa in La Jolla. He is worth an estimated $700 million. The government made him pay a mere $7.5 million for his crimes. The profane, volatile, bullying Scotch guzzler and work addict — now on his fourth marriage — can no longer practice law but is preparing to teach a course at the University of California Irvine School of Law.

The Eight Year Itch

Richard Cassin, FCPA Blog | May 24, 2010

Last week we wondered why there hasn't been a new FCPA enforcement action from the DOJ since Daimler's on April 1. Among our guesses were personnel changes, trial-team stresses, and strategic reviews. But here's another -- prep time for the Phase 3 Review under the OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention.

Conrad Black's lonely legal battle

Theresa Tedesco, National Post | May 22, 2010

When Conrad Black entered the U.S. justice system, he was a little-known Canadian-born press baron snared by America's renowned white-collar crime dragnet. Three years later, however, the noted historian could be on the verge of leaving an indelible mark on the way that country prosecutes white-collar criminals in the future.