Last week in this SLW Contest we challenged readers to answer the waaaaay-too-obscure question below.  In hindsight, it really wasn't a fair question--it was just something I noticed as I pored through some old SEC Litigation Releases from 1997 and 1998.  The question was:

What "SEC first" that launched a trend that continues to this day occurred on September 1, 1998?

Clue: It relates to the Enforcement Division and the answer lies in this SEC Litigation Release.

Well, we actually have a winner:  Michael Marek of Financial Markets Analysis, LLC in Princeton, NJ.  Michael correctly noted that September 1, 1998, was the date on which the SEC first used a press release-style "headline" in a Litigation Release. 

Prior to that date, the SEC had simply used something like this:

SEC v. THETA GROUP, LLC, SHADOWSTONE PARTNERS I, LLC,
SCOTT S. BELL AND R. SCOT RUBEL  (USDC N.D. Ill., No. 96 C 7987,
filed December 5, 1996) 

So today, because of the out-of-the-box thinking of some unsung SEC staffer whose name will probably never be known, we are blessed with catchy headlines such as "SEC Settles With Motivational Speaker" to keep us interested in the SEC's enforcement efforts.

Michael Marek, congratulations.  As promised, SLW hereby bequeaths Total Consciousness upon you.  So you've got that going for you, which is nice.