The federal judge presiding over the SEC’s...

The federal judge presiding over the SEC’s massive insider trading lawsuit against Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. said that he intends to merge pretrial evidence gathering in the case with that of more than a dozen private lawsuits pending against former financier Ivan F. Boesky. The judge, Milton Pollack, is presiding over all of the cases. The move might limit defense lawyers’ access to some information pending the outcome of a federal criminal investigation of Drexel because a limited stay already is in effect on the other cases. Since the suits involve many of the same witnesses and documents, Pollack’s order would streamline pretrial “discovery” and prevent witnesses from having to appear repeatedly at depositions.