If someone were to tell us that morale among staffers at the SEC is flying high, we might politely suggest that that person move away from the burning plastic. After all, the commission has in recent days received blistering down-dressings over its missing the alleged frauds of Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford.

But according to this Legal Times story, SEC staffers are, in fact, feeling pretty good these days.

"There's a sense of the lifting of spirits," said Elisse Walter, one of the SEC's two Democratic commissioners, to Legal Times.

According to staffers, new SEC chairman Mary Schapiro has played a big role in the new buoyant mood. Since being sworn in as chairman Jan. 27, Mary Schapiro has rolled back a number of existing rules that critics say slowed down the enforcement process and hired a new enforcement chief, Robert Khuzami, a veteran federal prosecutor. Perhaps most importantly, Schapiro is urging staffers to aggressively pursue investigations.

Under the previous administration, "the guiding principle was slow it down, shut it down, find a way to bog it down," says a lawyer in the division. "We are now being given the tools, the ability, and the discretion to use our good judgment."