A principal architect of the SEC Whistleblower Program, in 2011, Jordan Thomas established the nation’s first whistleblower practice exclusively focused on violations of the federal securities laws. Both pioneer and recognized leader in the field, Jordan has been profiled in the The New Yorker, New York Times and on NPR. His clients have secured precedent-setting whistleblower awards and have launched many of the SEC’s most high-profile cases.
To date, his clients won the largest single-case SEC whistleblower award in history, more than $83 million for reporting misconduct at Merrill Lynch, which led to its $415 million settlement with the Commission. In addition to significant monetary recoveries, among his many landmark cases, he successfully represented the first officer of a public company to win an SEC whistleblower award, the first SEC whistleblower to receive criminal immunity, and the first SEC whistleblower to receive a whistleblower award because his company retaliated against him.
A longtime public servant and seasoned trial lawyer, Jordan entered private practice from the Securities and Exchange Commission where he served as an Assistant Director and, previously, as an Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the Division of Enforcement. He had a leadership role in the development of the SEC Whistleblower Program, including leading fact-finding visits to other federal agencies with whistleblower programs, drafting the proposed legislation and implementing rules, and briefing House and Senate staffs on the proposed legislation. Throughout his tenure at the SEC, where he investigated, litigated and supervised a wide variety of enforcement matters, Jordan was assigned to many of its highest-profile actions such as those involving Enron, Fannie Mae, UBS, and Citigroup. His SEC enforcement cases have resulted in monetary sanctions and relief for harmed investors in excess of $35 billion.
Prior to joining the Commission, Jordan was a Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice, where he specialized in complex financial services litigation involving the FDIC and Office of Thrift Supervision. He began his legal career as a Navy Judge Advocate on active duty and recently retired as a Captain in its Reserve Law Program. While in law school, he worked as a stockbroker.
Jordan served as the Chair of the Investor Rights Committee of the District of Columbia Bar and a board member of the City Bar Fund, the pro bono affiliate of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Jordan is a nationally sought after writer, speaker, and media commentator on securities enforcement, corporate ethics and whistleblower issues.
Jordan understands the importance of the anonymity of his clients. With this in mind, Jordan gives clients the option to communicate through secure and encrypted applications such as Signal, Telegram, and Whatsapp.
He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and the States of Connecticut, New Mexico, New York and Virginia.
