September 24, 2012
Federal Whistleblower Programs at Work: IRS to Pay Whistleblower $104 Million
Labaton Sucharow
On the heels of the SEC’s announcement of its first whistleblower award, the IRS announced last week that it would pay one of its first awards—a startling $104 million—to a former UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, who aided the government in connection with its investigation into the bank’s practice of helping wealthy U.S. taxpayers hide billions...
Articles & Perspectives
September 12, 2012
Rebel With a Cause?
The ABA Journal, a publication of the American Bar Association, has just announced its Legal Rebels for 2012. I was honored to be counted in the list of 11 Legal Rebels who come from a wide range of practices and firms across the nation. Now in its fourth year, this is the journal’s “annual nod...
Articles & Perspectives
August 23, 2012
A Powerful Partnership in Full Swing: SEC Issues First Award to Whistleblower
Labaton Sucharow
Yesterday, just one year after the final rules of the SEC Whistleblower Program became effective, the agency has issued its first whistleblower award. This is a pivotal moment for prospective whistleblowers, investors and the public at large. There are several remarkable points to note about this first award. First, the timing of this award underscores...
Articles & Perspectives
August 21, 2012
When Can an Officer Blow the Whistle?
Risk Management Magazine
Articles & Perspectives
August 20, 2012
Is Bigger Necessarily Better? Recent ERC Survey Examines Workplace Ethics Within Fortune 500
Labaton Sucharow
The Ethics Resource Center (ERC), a definitive organization in the ethics and compliance arena, has just released the results of a first-of-its-kind survey of workplace ethics within the nation’s most powerful companies. Conducted in June of this year, the survey marks the first comprehensive pulse-taking of Fortune 500 employees’ views on workplace ethics. The results...
Articles & Perspectives
July 30, 2012
Are You Eligible to be an SEC Whistleblower?
Labaton Sucharow
About the Program Established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC Whistleblower Program provides eligible whistleblowers with significant monetary awards, employment protections, and the ability to report misconduct anonymously. Tips must be provided to the Commission voluntarily, the information must be original and, to qualify for an award, the tip...
Articles & Perspectives
July 26, 2012
Four Years of Reform and Recovery, and Still…Survey Reveals A Need for a Renewed Focus on Corporate Integrity in the Financial Services Industry
Despite a nagging suspicion that Gordon Gekko continues his reign as the model titan of Wall Street, most of us want to believe that in the wake of the economic collapse, things have changed. We cross our fingers, guard our pensions and pray that it’s not just regulators that keep the industry in balance, but...
Articles & Perspectives
July 2, 2012
When Can a Corporation’s Lawyer Blow the Whistle?
Corporate Counsel
In this article, published in Corporate Counsel, Jordan A. Thomas and Bruce Green weigh in on how whistleblowing attorneys can be protected when participating in the SEC Whistleblower program, while continuing to the adhere to the ABA professional conduct guidelines. Due to the nature of the legal profession, “attorney whistleblowers are likely to be rare,...
Articles & Perspectives
June 26, 2012
Corporate Lawyers as Whistleblowers
Labaton Sucharow
At one time, attorneys’ duty to maintain corporate clients’ confidences, even in the face of anticipated or ongoing corporate wrongdoing, was thought to be virtually absolute. But that changed over time, as relevant rules and laws gave lawyers greater discretion to make public disclosures to avert corporate clients’ misconduct. And now, following the enactment of...
Articles & Perspectives
June 11, 2012
Unleashing the Potential of the SEC Whistleblower Provisions
David Callahan, the co-founder and Senior Fellow of the public policy group Demos, penned an informative blog post on the SEC’s latest arsenal in combating securities violations, the new Whistleblower provisions. The posts include two surveys whose findings demonstrate the huge potential of the new laws. There has been a positive and proactive response to...
Articles & Perspectives
June 6, 2012
Balancing Conscience and Confidentiality for Attorney Whistleblowers
Corporate Counsel
Attorneys-in-house and outside counsel alike-often stand at the crossroads of corporate misconduct. At one time, attorneys’ duty to maintain corporate clients’ confidences was thought to be virtually absolute. But that changed over time, as relevant rules and laws gave lawyers greater discretion to make public disclosures to avert clients’ anticipated or ongoing wrongdoing. And now,...
Articles & Perspectives
May 29, 2012
Survey Suggests SEC Whistleblower Program Has Not Significantly Affected Internal Reporting, Still Companies Should Do More
Labaton Sucharow
In August and September 2011, TheCorporateCounsel.net surveyed the impact of the SEC Whistleblower Program and how companies are responding to the whistleblower provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Contrary to the significant concerns expressed by the corporate community during the legislative and regulatory process, more than a year after the...
Articles & Perspectives