Heat rising on lawyers?

The SEC, as if it doesn't have enough going on already, is apparently preparing to take a harder line on securities attorneys. The SEC has the authority, granted by Sarbanes-Oxley, to target attorneys in a much more aggressive manner, CCH Wall Street notes. Under Section 307, an in-house or hired attorney is required to report to authorities if executives fail to report wrongdoing to the board of directors.

Increasingly, the agency seems to be looking at conduct, not just legal advice. This may have some roots in the many options backdating cases that have cropped up. We have yet to see a wave of prosecutions, but one lawyer in New York was accused of improper conduct during an investigation and charged with violating the state's code of conduct. This may intimate more activity in the future.  

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Backdating probes put companies in quandary