October 24, 2014
Whistleblowers on Tour
Labaton Sucharow
This week, I was honored to participate in the NYC stop of the Government Accountability Project’s Whistleblower Tour, which seeks to educate the public about the important role whistleblowers play in promoting government and corporate accountability. Speaking on a panel with Enron Whistleblower Sherron Watkins, Jon Oberg, Louis Clark and Jennifer Pacella was a phenomenal experience,...
Articles & Perspectives
October 21, 2014
Gearing Up for Annual Report, White Touts Whistleblower Program’s Success
Labaton Sucharow
As we await the Annual Report of the SEC Office of the Whistleblower—expected in mid-November—Mary Jo White categorically praised the program, citing its ‘enormous success’ in generating information about significant securities violations. (See the FY 2013 Annual Report here.) In her address last week to the Ontario Securities Commission, which is considering the implementation of an incentive-based whistleblower...
Articles & Perspectives
October 20, 2014
2014 Enforcement Division Report
Last week, the SEC released key data relating to Enforcement Division activity in FY 2014. Among the highlights, we note a 10% increase in enforcement actions over the prior year. Most importantly, monetary sanctions are significantly larger; a 22% increase in penalties an disgorgement as compared to FY 2013. Whistleblowers continue to play a crucial...
Articles & Perspectives
October 12, 2014
Employment Agreements that Undermine Dodd-Frank’s Whistleblower Provisions
American Bar Association
In an article for the American Bar Association’s Journal of Labor & Employment Law, the authoritative publication for workplace issues, together with Professor Richard Moberly and fellow attorney Jason Zuckerman, Jordan A. Thomas examines the legality and enforcement of employment agreements that effectively undermine the crucial investor protection efforts established by the Dodd-Frank Act. Please click here...
Articles & Perspectives
September 12, 2014
The Corporate Officer as SEC Whistleblower?
Labaton Sucharow
Corporate officers owe certain fiduciary duties, including a duty of loyalty, to an organization and its shareholders. What is required when the officer discovers possible violations of the federal securities laws? In an article in Risk Management Magazine Jordan Thomas and Lawrence A. Hamermesh examine corporate officers’ rights and duties in light of the new...
Articles & Perspectives
August 30, 2014
The SEC Whistleblower Program Year in Review
Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation
Articles & Perspectives
August 27, 2014
Support Protections for Whistleblowers
The New York Times
In Room for Debate, The New York Times invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss news events and other timely issues. In the article titled “Holding Bankers Accountable,” the following question was proposed: Can more be done to hold bankers accountable for the financial crisis or is there a good reason the Justice Department has reached...
Articles & Perspectives
August 7, 2014
Achievements, Challenges and Change: A Look at the Past, Present and Future of the SEC Whistleblower Program
Labaton Sucharow
We discuss highlights from Achievements, Challenges and Change: The SEC Whistleblower Program Year in Review. Four years ago this month, with the country still reeling from financial crisis, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act-the most sweeping financial reform effort since the Great Depression. The goal of Dodd-Frank was as ambitious...
Articles & Perspectives
August 7, 2014
Achievements, Challenges and Change: A Look at the Past, Present and Future of the SEC Whistleblower Program
Labaton Sucharow
Four years ago, the President signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the most sweeping financial reform effort since the Great Depression. One of Dodd-Frank’s key charges was the creation of a whistleblower program that offered anonymous reporting, employment protections and significant monetary incentives to eligible SEC whistleblowers. Is the...
Articles & Perspectives
July 23, 2014
The Best Way to Honor Whistleblowers on National Whistleblower Appreciation Day? Do More to Protect Them
Labaton Sucharow
In recognition of National Whistleblower Appreciation Day, coming up on July 30, we were asked to contribute a guest post on the Government Accountability Project’s website, which can be found here. GAP is the nation’s leading non-profit, non-partisan whistleblower protection and advocacy organization, which helps expose wrongdoing to the public and actively promotes government and corporate...
Articles & Perspectives
July 21, 2014
Wall Street’s New Enforcers Aim to Muzzle Whistle-Blowers
The New York Times
Articles & Perspectives
July 1, 2014
$8.9 Billion BNP Guilty Plea Shows Power of Whistleblowers
Labaton Sucharow
The Department of Justice resolved another massive criminal investigation yesterday, as French banking giant BNP Paribas pled guilty to willfully evading U.S. embargoes on Iran, Sudan and Cuba. BNP agreed to pay an $8.9 billion fine, one of the largest in U.S. history, and admitted that it had taken steps to conceal the true nature of the...
Articles & Perspectives