SEC Whistleblower Attorney

Dedicated to protecting SEC whistleblowers worldwide

Motley Rice’s SEC whistleblower lawyers have represented employees in diverse roles—from senior executives and mid-level managers to junior staff—in the financial industry and beyond. In every case we take on, we are committed to protecting whistleblower rights and confidentiality, while expeditiously filing all reports with the appropriate institution.

Motley Rice’s SEC Whistleblower team guides both U.S. and international clients through every step of the complex SEC whistleblower process. Our team has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in cumulative awards for clients, including in 2023 securing one of the largest awards granted to a whistleblower in the history of the SEC Whistleblower Program.

Reporting corporate misconduct

If you learn of securities violations such as bribery, theft, corporate fraud or accounting irregularities within a company, you may be in the position to prevent or even stop this misconduct before it causes significant injury by reporting it to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Reporting such misconduct not only can benefit company investors and help to preserve the integrity of the U.S. capital markets, but it may also result in a substantial monetary reward for the whistleblower.

If the whistleblower is represented by an attorney, the SEC whistleblower program prioritizes the complete anonymity of the whistleblower. In addition, persons reporting violations related to securities, bank, or other federal shareholder fraud laws may be protected from employer retaliation through the SEC Whistleblower Program.

SEC whistleblower program and the Dodd-Frank Act

Of all whistleblower protection provisions, the SEC Whistleblower Program established by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act contains some of the strongest.

The Dodd-Frank Act protects SEC whistleblowers by creating a federal private right of action against employer retaliation. Employers are prohibited from firing, demoting, suspending, threatening, harassing or discriminating against a covered whistleblower, and if they retaliate, the SEC whistleblower may sue for reinstatement, back pay and any other damages incurred.

There are many improper acts that give rise to an SEC whistleblower claim, including:

• Accounting irregularities
• Broker fraud
• Corporate bribery
• Corporate fraud
• Failure to file required reports
• Insider trading
• Ponzi schemes
• Price fixing
• Market manipulation
• Misappropriation of securities
• Theft of funds

The SEC Whistleblower Program is authorized to provide eligible whistleblowers monetary awards amounting to anywhere between 10 and 30 percent of the total fines and penalties collected by the SEC if their information leads to the SEC bringing an action with fines and penalties in excess of $1 million.

About the Author

William S. Norton

Member

Bill Norton litigates securities fraud, corporate governance, False Claims Act, SEC whistleblower and other complex class action, consumer, and commercial matters.