Senior Counsel

Rebecca M. Katz

212.577.0051

As the head of Motley Rice’s SEC whistleblower litigation team, Rebecca Katz represents and protects individual whistleblowers who expose corporate misconduct.

Rebecca has successfully represented both U.S. and international clients in navigating the intricacies of the SEC whistleblower process—from filing the initial complaint through the final award stage. In addition to her renowned whistleblower work, Rebecca has experience litigating complex securities fraud cases, and has held senior leadership and partnership roles at two New York plaintiffs’ litigation firms.

Formerly senior counsel for the SEC’s Enforcement Division, Rebecca has been at the forefront of the field since the inception of the SEC Whistleblower Program under the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010. She has secured approximately 12% of the $1.3 billion in total awards as of 2022, including the second largest award ever granted to a whistleblower.* Rebecca also represented two former financial advisers who alleged a brokerage firm made misleading statements related to a struggling investment product. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, the SEC ruled in favor of the whistleblowers and awarded them the maximum award percentage allowed.*

Guiding senior executives, mid-level managers and junior staff across a range of industries through the complex and dynamic whistleblower legal landscape, Rebecca provides strategic legal counsel to ensure—above all—strict whistleblower confidentiality and protection in reporting fraud to government enforcement agencies from the SEC and the DOJ to the IRS and CTFC.  

Rebecca is a frequently speaker at legal conferences nationwide and provides insight on numerous issues involving the SEC whistleblower program and securities litigation for national and local media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg Law, The National Law Journal, and Law360, among others. 

Rebecca serves on the Financial Fraud Committee for Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF), a public interest, non-profit organization dedicated to defending and empowering whistleblowers who expose fraud in government and in financial markets. 

A published author and former faculty member at the Practising Law Institute’s Securities Litigation & Enforcement Institute (both in the U.S. and UK), Rebecca has lectured at the Fordham University School of Law’s Eugene P. and Delia S. Murphy Conference on Corporate Law – Corporations, Investors and the Securities Markets. Rebecca was a member of the Hofstra Law Review while completing her law degree from Hofstra University School of Law.

* Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Education

J.D., Hofstra University School of Law, 1990

B.S., Hofstra University, 1987

Licensed In

  • New York

Admitted to Practice Before

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York

Associations

New York City Bar Association, Member—Securities Litigation Committee

Awards and Accolades

New York, NY
2017–2024  Mass tort litigation / class actions – plaintiffs

2008–2010, 2013–2023 New York Metro Super Lawyers – Securities

2019 Outstanding Women in Law honoree

2014 Top 150 Women in Litigation list: New York – securities
2013–2014 New York “Litigation Star” securities