September 26, 2012
Americans Plan to Act in November and Beyond: New Survey Reveals Growing Frustration With Corporate Misconduct, Government’s Response
Labaton Sucharow
This week, we announced the results of our 2nd Annual Ethics & Action Survey: Voices Carry, which polled more than 1,000 Americans on corporate ethics and wrongdoing, the impact of corporate misconduct on the economy, government’s role in its repair and the impact on their voting decisions in November. Notably, 61 percent of respondents report...
Articles & Perspectives
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
September 12, 2012
SEC Whistleblower Program Stricter Than IRS Bounty Which Paid $104 Million To Felon, Former Official Says
Reuters
Thomas noted differences between the programs for rewarding individuals, even if they participated in the wrongdoing, who provide information that leads to the recovery of unpaid taxes and penalties, in the case of IRS tips, or fines and the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, in the case of SEC whistleblowers. The SEC program allows for bounties...
In The News
September 11, 2012
Jailed UBS Tax Whistleblower Gets $104M IRS Award
Law360
Even though Birkenfeld is still serving a prison sentence, the historic award will push potential whistleblowers to provide information to law enforcement officials, said Jordan Thomas, head of the whistleblower practice at [prior firm]. Most people with valuable information are not going to have the same level of criminal liability that Birkenfeld did, he added....
In The News
August 24, 2012
Anonymity For Whistleblowers May Undermine Programme
Risk.net
Jordan Thomas, partner and chair of the whistleblower representation practice at [prior firm] in New York, says he expects the SEC will release more information about the type of tips its is receiving in its annual report. “In that context, they can talk about multiple different submissions without identifying a specific whistleblower, so there’s less...
In The News
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 22, 2012
SEC Whistle-Blower Program Starts Paying Off For Agency, Tipsters
Los Angeles Times
“The full tidal wave of cases is more likely to be in year four, five — that’s when you’ll see the full effect,” said Jordan Thomas, a whistle-blowers’ attorney at law firm [prior firm] in New York. Thomas, who helped set up the program before leaving the SEC, said it could “revolutionize” securities enforcement. Wall...
In The News
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