At a ceremony on Wednesday, The American Lawyer once again bestowed awards on the country's best litigation departments. It's been fascinating to see all the outstanding work done by the firms that have competed over the past decade, but I'm also left with another impression: Not much has changed.

In its biggest suit yet, the National Credit Union Administration claims Bear Stearns sold $3.6 billion in shoddy mortgage-backed securities to four failed credit unions. But just like the cases that the Federal Housing Finance Agency brought against a slew of banks, the NCUA suits are in limbo as federal appeals courts weigh whether the agencies waited too long to sue.