Here is the weekly summary for Securities Docket’s Web Watch (”This Week’s Best Blog Posts and Columns”):
- LAUREL BRUBAKER CALKINS, BLOOMBERG (May 8, 2009): Stanford’s Cowboy Lawyer DeGuerin Shows ‘No Mercy’ In Defense
Dick DeGuerin, R. Allen Stanford’s attorney, says the case was brought by “storm troopers” at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission who “cremated” his client’s business. - THE D&O DIARY (May 8, 2009): Plaintiffs Prevail in Mixed Jury Verdict in Household International Securities Fraud Trial
A jury entered a mixed verdict finding in plaintiffs’ favor on several counts in the Household International securities fraud securities class action lawsuit, a long-running case with overtones of the current subprime meltdown. - DEALBOOK (May 7, 2009): A Brave New World for the S.E.C.
The commission’s trial lawyers will face a daunting task even explaining to a jury what a C.D.S. is, much less how the trading constituted a fraud in a market rife with information flowing among issuers, investment banks and investors. - WSJ LAW BLOG (May 6, 2009): Making Sense of the Mini-Boom in Securities Suits
According to a report out by Advisen, securities-litigation filings for the first quarter of 2009 were way up over both the same quarter a year ago and the fourth quarter of 2008. We checked in with practitioners to get their takes on the figures. - HEDGEWEEK (May 6, 2009): EU directive will cost UK hedge fund industry GBP3bn
The proposed EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers is the European equivalent of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act — a knee-jerk ’solution’ to non-problems. - CLUSTERSTOCK (May 6, 2009): SEC’s Money Market Suit Could Spell Trouble For Bear And Lehman Execs
The lawsuit filed by the SEC against the founder of Reserve Primary Fund and his son may spell bad news for the heads of Wall Street firms that failed or had to take additional government assistance last year or the early months of this year. - IDEOBLOG (May 6, 2009): The SEC’s quixotic pursuit of insider trading in CDS’s
Should the SEC even be bothering with insider trading cases involving credit default swaps? - FOX NEWS POLITICS (May 6, 2009): Robert Morgenthau: A Legacy of Public Service and Prosecution
Robert Morris Morgenthau, Manhattan’s nine-term district attorney, has truly seen it all throughout his illustrious career as one of the most storied law enforcement officials in U.S. history. - RANDALL W. FORSYTH, BARRONS (May 6, 2009): Wall Street’s Faustian Bargain with Washington
Washington’s hostility toward Wall Street has palpably increased. When the crisis was in its full fury, scapegoating would have added to chaos. Now that the market is on the upswing, it’s a different story. - POMTALK (May 5, 2009): 12th Annual Abraham L. Pomerantz Lecture–Due Diligence: Failures and Remedies
The failure of anyone to do sufficient due diligence during the recent wave of nonprime mortgage securitizations was a major cause of the subprime mortgage fallout, which in turn, was a major force behind the current widespread economic crisis. - THE FCPA BLOG (May 5, 2009): When Is It OK To Pay?
The application of the FCPA law isn’t necessarily black and white. And that’s why, more than 30 years after the FCPA’s enactment, people still want to know — When is it OK to pay a foreign official? - THE BLT (May 4, 2009): New Authority Delegated to SEC General Counsel
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission finalized a rule amendment that gives the agency’s general counsel the authority to assign and remove officers from investigations being conducted by the Office of General Counsel. - THE D&O DIARY (May 4, 2009): Mounting Bankruptcies Spread Securities Litigation Risk
The infiltration of the credit crisis into the larger economy not only threatens a rise in bankruptcies, but could also include increased bankruptcy-related securities litigation, much of which may be outside the financial sector.