SEC Whistleblower Lawyers

Unlike other whistleblower law firms, our law firms focus exclusively on representing SEC whistleblowers.

Our legal team is unique and combines decades of experience of two law firms' principals, David R. Chase, a former SEC Prosecutor, with those of Scott Silver, a former Wall Street securities defense attorney. The synergy of these perspectives is powerful and brings to the table tremendous value to our SEC whistleblower clients.

Having worked in the SEC's Division of Enforcement, David understands the types of cases the SEC is most likely to investigate and, perhaps more importantly, knows how to present the evidence in a persuasive and compelling manner designed to get the SEC to commence an investigation.

Once an investigation is launched, David has years of experience and strategic insight on cooperating SEC whistleblowers with the goal of maximizing their potential whistleblower award. Scott's work as a Wall Street defense lawyer, and as the author of a widely accepted primer on the SEC's Whistleblower Program, provides additional depth of perspective, as well as years of seasoned judgment, all to the benefit of our clients.

We keenly understand the stress and uncertainty that comes with making a decision to blow the whistle. Our job is to guide you through the whistleblower process, protecting your interests while doing so, with the aim of maximizing your potential financial bounty.

We only take compelling cases, and represent clients on a contingency fee basis while heavily investing our time and resources, demonstrating our belief in a case's value. We receive a fee only when we succeed.

Congress created the SEC Whistleblower Program to provide financial payouts to individuals who report original information of securities laws violations to the SEC. The SEC Whistleblower Program offers substantial rewards of between 10% to 30% of monies collected on judgments exceeding $1 million.

At Silver Law Group and Law Firm of David R. Chase, our attorneys provide skillful and strategic legal representation to SEC whistleblowers across the country and abroad. Our law firms' collective experience, judgment and comprehensive knowledge of this complex legal area allows us to effectively and successfully advance our SEC whistleblower client's interests. Call us at (800) 975-4345 or use our online form to set up a free consultation.

Our government recognizes that ordinary citizens and corporate insiders can make huge contributions to prosecuting securities and investment fraud. Securities are defined not only as stocks and bonds but also as other kinds of investments. The SEC relies on information and assistance from whistleblowers who become aware of possible violations of federal securities laws. These whistleblowers may assist the SEC in identifying legal violations and fraud earlier than the agency could discover them on its own.

Anybody who provides new material information about a federal securities violation may have protection as a whistleblower under Dodd-Frank. As a whistleblower, you can be a current employee of the company that you report, a victim of an investment scheme, or even an outside analyst. In order to be eligible for the incentives, you will need to provide information voluntarily. You cannot obtain an award in situations in which the SEC asked you for the information. Also, you cannot receive an award if the SEC already knows of the violation. However, you need not submit the information yourself. It is possible and often advisable to submit the information through a securities whistleblower attorney.

Various securities violations can give rise to whistleblowing. Violations can include insider trading, misrepresentations in securities sales, brokerage firm malfeasance, fraud in buying or selling investments, and market manipulation. If you report a violation, the information that you provide needs to establish that a federal securities law was violated. State securities violations are not part of the program. You do not need to have firsthand information, but it is advisable to retain a knowledgeable securities whistleblower lawyer to make sure that you conduct investigation and research before a claim is presented to the SEC. The strongest, attention-getting claims include information obtained internally.

SEC Whistleblower Awards

In order for you to obtain an award, the enforcement action that results from the information that you gave must lead to more than $1 million in sanctions. Your award will be between 10% and 30% of the sanctions. However, the amount can be increased, depending on how significant your information was, the extent of the success of the enforcement action against those violating the laws, and the SEC's interest in deterring similar misconduct, among other factors.

Conversely, the award can be reduced if you were involved in the misconduct, if you unreasonably delayed in reporting information, or if you interfered with the internal procedures put in place by the company.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission established the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act in 2011. Dodd-Frank is considered more expansive and protective than Sarbanes-Oxley. It allows the SEC and other authorities to award a bounty to a whistleblower when the whistleblower voluntarily gives the SEC original information that results in a successful enforcement action in which monetary sanctions of over $1 million are awarded. Under section 922, the SEC is authorized to provide you with a percentage of the recovery only if you give original information, and the provision of information results in a successful SEC enforcement action or substantially helps with an existing SEC enforcement action.

SEC Rules Prohibit Retaliation for Whistleblowing

Dodd-Frank includes anti-retaliation provisions. The law prohibits employers from discharging or discriminating against whistleblowers under the Dodd-Frank Act. If you are subjected to retaliation for being a whistleblower, you can sue under Dodd-Frank, which provides a private cause of action. You need not follow OSHA administrative procedures, as you would under Sarbanes-Oxley. Another feature of Dodd-Frank that distinguishes it from Sarbanes-Oxley is that it invalidates pre-dispute arbitration agreements regarding whistleblower retaliation claims.

The retaliation claim needs to be brought within six years of the retaliatory conduct or within three years of knowing about facts that are material to the claim. Remedies that you can recover if you succeed in establishing retaliation include reinstatement, double back pay, and fees and costs.

In the past, there was confusion over whether internal reports should count for the purposes of the anti-retaliation provision of Dodd-Frank. There was a circuit court split. In the Second Circuit, the anti-retaliation provision protected not only people who reported to the SEC but also people who reported potential securities violations to their own employer. However, an earlier Fifth Circuit decision held that an employee was not protected under the anti-retaliation provision of Dodd-Frank because he did not give the information directly to the SEC.

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved the split. It determined that Dodd-Frank's unambiguous definition of a whistleblower excludes people who do not report a violation of a securities law to the SEC, even if they reported internally. However, Dodd-Frank does protect employees who report both to the SEC and internally, whether or not the employer is unaware of the external report. Sarbanes-Oxley does protect internal reporting, but it has different requirements than Dodd-Frank, including a 180-day filing deadline for administrative complaints.

Scott Silver and David Chase, SEC Whistleblower Attorneys, Frequent Speakers at Industry Conferences

Scott Silver and David Chase are two of the top SEC whistleblower attorneys in the country, and they are frequent speakers at industry conferences. They recently spoke at the Orlando Money Show in October 2022, discussing the latest developments in SEC whistleblower law and how to receive an award for filing a SEC whistleblower claim.

They have spoken at numerous legal conferences and investment shows across the country, and may be available to speak at your event.