ORDINARY PEOPLE-TURNED WHISTLEBLOWERS and their attorneys stand on the frontline protecting America from fraud and financial crime.
That’s never been truer than it is today, as corporate complexity, advances in technology, and the globalization of the financial services industry make wrongdoing increasingly tempting and achievable. Sometimes, whistleblowing threatens the livelihoods of criminals who are powerful enough to destroy governments. Whistleblowers often pay dearly for their deeds. Whistleblowing demands nerves-of-steel teamwork between client and attorney.
Case in point: Phil Brewster ’03 who, with his co-counsel Patrick Mincey, is representing a whistleblower in a matter that is connected to a sprawling, years-long federal investigation of several well-known financial management giants, and an alleged international money laundering scheme of billions of dollars in oil money extracted from the Venezuelan government. “We know there’s been a tremendous fraud committed on the Venezuelan people, and its tentacles spread everywhere,” Brewster says. “We’re in the thick of it, and we’re not stopping.”
But what, exactly, does that entail? In a world where corruption is a threat to democracy and civil society, this is an important question. What does it take to be, and to legally represent, whistleblowers?
For Brewster, who founded Brewster Law Firm more than a decade ago in the Chicago area, where he handles False Claims Act matters, SEC whistleblower referrals, and...
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