Regulators plan to crunch the backdating of options, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox told the Washington Post.

And needless to say, the biggest scandal since Enron is also shaping up as a lawyer's picnic.




Cox said the SEC will issue a statement next month setting out the ground rules.

"We will issue guidance on the backdating of stock options that will more clearly circumscribe the bounds of acceptable conduct."

The timing isn't coincidental. It will coincide the SEC voting on rules requiring companies to disclose more information about executive compensation.

Meanwhile, lawyers are preparing for the next wave of shareholder lawsuits as more companies and their top executives are given the blowtorch.

And in a sign of things to come, check this report of the pension funds hiring well-known law firm William Lerach. Ask the tech firms what happened when the Lerach attack dogs were unleashed.

How easy will these cases be to prove? Looks like anyone's guess. Expect the statute of limitations to get plenty of airplay.

But with more and more companies coming under pressure, you can also expect the law suits to just keep rolling in.

As one lawyer said, every time you have allegations of regulators and corporations issuing any kind of mea culpa, that's the batphone ringing inside the law firms.