Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 was a record-breaking year for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Office of the Whistleblower.
Between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021, the SEC issued awards to more whistleblowers, and distributed more money in whistleblower funds, than in all prior years of the program combined. Now, just a few months into FY 2022 and two weeks into calendar year 2022, all signs point to a continued robust whistleblower program.
Continue Reading SEC Awards Over $17 Million to Whistleblowers in the First Two Weeks of 2022
FCA Enforcement Risks and Healthcare Compliance: A Conversation With Pete Jensen, Global Chief Compliance Officer for Arthrex, Inc.
In this second episode of a series regarding False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement, Perkins Coie attorneys Barak Cohen and Alex Canizares are joined by guest Pete Jensen, Global Chief Compliance Officer for Arthrex, Inc., one of the world’s largest medical device companies. In the podcast, Pete discusses the myriad challenges healthcare companies face when managing
These Defenses May Help Universities in Covid-19 Lawsuits
As college students return to campus, the potential for another shutdown looms, bringing with it exposure to lawsuits seeking tuition refunds or raising health and safety concerns.
Perkins Coie attorneys examine the current batch of class actions filed against higher education institutions and provide guidance to
The Hidden Magic of Mandatory Crime Reporting Laws
Attorneys counseling companies on white collar matters are likely to have discovered crimes such as theft, bribery, and embezzlement committed by current and former employees, as well as by competitors. Such bad acts (and bad actors) are not regularly reported to law enforcement.
In fact, what prevents more widespread reporting is the understandable fear that
Preparing Your Company to Respond to Unannounced Government Visits (Part 1)
This series, written by recent in-house counsel and former federal prosecutors, takes a practical approach to helping in-house legal and compliance teams operating in a world of complex regulatory schemes and increased whistleblower activity. It specifically aims to address how to avoid the types of seemingly minor or inconsequential missteps that can lead to aggressive
SEC May Limit “Game Changing” Whistleblower Bounties
On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed three rule changes to the Commission’s Whistleblower Program, including one that would authorize the SEC to “downward adjust” monetary awards in large actions for which an award might “exceed an amount that is reasonably necessary to advance the program’s goals”—in the view of the Commission. The proposed change prompted an immediate response from Commissioner Kara Stein who issued a separate Statement on Proposed Amendments to the Commission’s Whistleblower Program Rules (“Statement”) in which she highlights concerns that a move towards a more subjective standard in determining monetary awards could threaten a whistleblower’s incentive to come forward, given the added uncertainty in outcome. Additionally, Stein questions whether the SEC has the statutory authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to alter the rules impacting awards in this way.
Continue Reading SEC May Limit “Game Changing” Whistleblower Bounties
Supreme Court Ruling Narrows Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections
Perhaps no part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) has garnered as much attention as its whistleblower provisions, which pay corporate whistleblowers bounties under some circumstances, and prevent employers from retaliating against whistleblowing employees. Often times, the bounties paid to whistleblowers under Dodd-Frank warrant the most attention-grabbing headlines. But Dodd-Frank’s
Foreign Whistleblowers Continue to Collect Lucrative Bounties under Dodd-Frank
On December 5, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order awarding more than $4.1 million to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided original information to the agency concerning a widespread, multi-year securities-law violation. The award was paid pursuant to the SEC’s Whistleblower Program under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). While the identities of whistleblowers are kept confidential in accordance with the Program’s rules, information released by the SEC indicates that the latest payout marks the tenth award made to a whistleblower outside the U.S. A total of 50 whistleblowers have received monetary awards since the first bounty was awarded in 2012.
Continue Reading Foreign Whistleblowers Continue to Collect Lucrative Bounties under Dodd-Frank
Supreme Court to Decide Significant Whistleblower Issue
In granting a petition to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Somers v. Digital Realty, the Supreme Court will resolve a circuit court split on the issue of whether Dodd-Frank prohibits retaliation against internal whistleblowers who did not report their concerns about potential securities law violations to the SEC. In March, partners Tony Caliendo
U.K. Court Orders Disclosure of Internal Investigation Documents to Criminal Prosecutors
In a controversial ruling, London’s High Court has held that interview notes and other documents created by outside legal counsel and forensic accountants as part of an internal investigation into foreign bribery allegations are not protected by the legal professional privilege. While the appeals process is already underway, the May 8th decision by the Honourable Mrs Justice Andrews is a noteworthy victory for the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), an agency akin to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), the U.K. division of a multinational mining conglomerate operating in the Middle East and Africa, is the subject of an ongoing SFO criminal investigation. At times, ENRC appears to have been in a cooperation posture with the SFO; but earlier this year, the SFO filed a petition seeking to force ENRC to produce documents the company claimed were privileged. The London High Court agreed with the SFO, ruling that almost all of the documents at issue were not privileged and should be disclosed to the SFO.
Continue Reading U.K. Court Orders Disclosure of Internal Investigation Documents to Criminal Prosecutors