The Securities and Exchange Commission is intensifying its scrutiny of lawyers who gave a green light to certain mortgage bond deals before the financial crisis or have tried to thwart investigations by the agency, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

The scrutiny might not result in any enforcement action because of the difficulty proving lawyers went beyond their legal duty to clients, these people cautioned. Some SEC officials have grown frustrated by what they claim is direct obstruction into some investigations where lawyers coach clients in the art of resisting and rebuffing, including “forgetting” what happened. Read the full story.