It is now public knowledge that large corporate defense firms are representing whistleblowers under the Dodd-Frank Act. As part of an investigation into the U.S. Securities and Exchange Whistleblower Program, the online newspaper Whistleblower Network News (WNN) reviewed over 1000 documents released by the SEC in response to a Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) request. The investigation revealed that a number of “Big Law” law firms which primarily represent corporations and executives in SEC investigations have represented whistleblowers who have obtained awards through the program.
The exact number of corporate defense firms cannot be known, given the confidentiality surrounding SEC investigations. WNN uncovered that out of 64 different law firms that had represented whistleblowers who obtained awards under the SEC Whistleblower Program through 2021, 6 were primarily corporate defense firms. This comes out to 9.3% of firms. If this number holds and one considers the over 50,000 whistleblower cases pending before the SEC, then it is easy to see that a huge swath of defense firms have begun representing whistleblowers.
No matter the specific number of firms, this marks a major shift in the legal field. The “iron curtain” that historically separated law firms that represent corporate criminals from those that represent whistleblowers has fallen. Whether or not this is a good or bad thing, the shift unquestionably comes with serious ethical, policy and legal implications,...
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