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 7:

What Any Goldman Settlement Might Entail (Peter Henning, DealBook)

DealBook | May 6, 2010

In the wake of a Senate hearing and the disclosure of the Justice Department's criminal inquiry, speculation has swirled that Goldman Sachs may try to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission's civil fraud case.

With Goldman's annual shareholder meeting this Friday, where even more questions are likely to be raised about the firm's position, it is worth considering what it might take to resolve the various lawsuits and inquiries into how Goldman operated as a purveyor of exotic securities.

How Federal Crackdown on Bribery Hurts Business And Enriches Insiders (Nathan Vardi, Forbes)

Forbes | May 6, 2010

Nice work if you can get it--and to the tune of billions of dollars, lawyers, accountants and consultants, many with past ties to the Justice Department, are getting it. In the last few years, as the feds cranked up enforcement of the 33-year-old Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a thriving and lucrative anti-bribery complex has emerged. Whether it's having any impact on reducing bribery is another matter. Instead, companies can find themselves getting extorted in foreign lands, only to get extorted again by Washington. It works generally like this: A company that suspects bribery overseas hires a battery of lawyers, accountants and investigators who may then report any findings to Justice in hopes of some undefined leniency. More likely, the company pays out huge fines and then hires more lawyers as government-mandated compliance monitors, a job that can stretch into years of legal billing.

Goldman Sachs Testimony a Boost for Financial Reform (Jessica Rettig, US News)

U.S. News & World Report | May 5, 2010

The characters were prepped and suited, the props-thick binders holding embarrassing insider E-mails-were set prominently in place, and the cameras went live as what MSNBC proclaimed to be the "hearing of the century" played out on Capitol Hill. Last Tuesday's 11-hour showdown between senators and top officials of Wall Street icon Goldman Sachs may not have quite lived up to that billing, but it was dramatic political theater (with a certain expletive bleeped out for TV viewers). And it did produce some quick political fallout: Senate Republicans dropped their opposition to opening debate on the Democrats' proposed financial regulatory reform legislation.

Former card shark now fights for shareholders (Jeff Gray, The Globe and Mail)

The Globe and Mail | May 4, 2010

If it's a class-action lawsuit filed in Ontario on behalf of shareholders against a company or its directors, it's a good bet that Dimitri Lascaris of Siskinds LLP is the lawyer's name on the file. He knows something about good bets: For a decade, he took a break from the law to join a team of professional blackjack players that used statistical techniques to beat the odds at casinos around the world.

Don't diss the SEC (Vanessa Drucker, Fund Strategy)

Fund Strategy | May 4, 2010

Since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stunned Wall Street on April 16 with its civil suit against Goldman Sachs, a chorus of cynics has denigrated the SEC's position. Naysayers insist the legal basis for fraud is weak, and add that the Commission's three to two vote further dilutes the case. Not so fast.

The Class Action's Frankenstein Status Confirmed (Lawrence W. Schonbrun, HuffPo)

The Huffington Post | May 3, 2010

What would you think of a legal system in which someone burglarizes your house, yet you are required to sue yourself and are on the hook for the damage caused by the burglar? And what would you think of a legal system that functioned such that if you were in a car accident and had a legitimate claim for $5,000 for damage to your automobile, the best your lawyer could do was get you $250 to $500 (a mere 5 to 10% of the damages) then took 30 percent of that for his fee plus expenses? Unless you were a lawyer, wouldn't you think these systems of "compensation" were monstrously flawed? But this is how the securities class action system has worked for decades.

Goldman Sachs: Risking Its Most Valuable Asset (Daniel Gross, Newsweek)

Newsweek | May 3, 2010

It's been a bad week or two for Goldman Sachs. On April 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the firm with fraud for the way it structured and sold some junky mortgage-related products. Earlier this week, its top executives came off as responsibility-evading jerks when testifying before Congress. And then on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC had referred Goldman's case to the Justice Department. Citigroup CEO and chairman Charles Prince. PHOTOS Who Is to Blame? When it comes to bad decision making, these folks deserve their dunce caps.

Goldman is entering dangerous territory. The firm is in danger of losing what may be its most valuable asset: its social license.

Criminal Consequences (Craig Pirrong, Streetwise Professor)

Streetwise Professor | May 3, 2010

It has been reported that Federal prosecutors are considering the possibility of a criminal indictment of Goldman Sachs. It is early yet, but it's worthwhile to contemplate what the consequences of this action would be.