It's been an eventful couple of weeks for plaintiffs lawyers at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd who are targeting Morgan Stanley and the three big ratings companies in a pair of coordinated suits in New York.

By tackling the glaring conflict of interest created by a credit rating system beholden to issuers, Obama's pick to lead the SEC could prove she plans to live up to her reputation for toughness.

We're finally going to get a once-and-for-all ruling on whether Cravath can continue as counsel to Air Products in the hostile bid for onetime Cravath client Airgas--but it's going to come without a formal hearing. The Delaware judge poised to decide the issue has cancelled a Tuesday hearing, informing lawyers on both sides that he'll decide on the briefs.