Financial Industry Employees

Much of the work at the Silver Law Group and the Law Firm of David R. Chase is focused on representing victims of financial fraud in litigation or arbitration. But we also represent people before the SEC Office of the Whistleblower, and that often involves a different kind of client. While the SEC welcomes reports from victims of fraud, the whistleblower program anticipates that reports of fraud may be especially likely to come from people inside the financial industry.

That kind of report is the most classic form of “blowing the whistle”—but it’s also the kind that is most likely to pose a danger to the whistleblower’s job, career and reputation. Both law firms represent Wall Street insiders who need an attorney experienced with securities law to guide them through the process.

“Insiders” to an unlawful financial scheme are in the perfect position to notice and unveil it. Being part of a company or organization makes you privy to information that even clients or contractors may not have. Insiders might notice something doesn’t seem right about activity they’re not directly involved in, or they may be drawn into a scheme that they know (or eventually realize) is not lawful.

In either case, taking the information to the SEC carries risks. Disclosing illegal activity to someone outside of your organization—especially regulators—can be enough to get you fired and your name dragged through the mud. We find that insiders who come to our SEC whistleblower attorneys are frequently very concerned about making sure there’s no information that connects them to the report—at least until the people responsible are no longer in a position to hurt them. Part of our job is to make sure that happens, balancing that need with the need to provide useful information to the SEC.

Another common concern for SEC whistleblowers is to what extent they could be implicated in a financial crime. If you’re part of the organization, you could have an actual or perceived part of the wrongdoing. Even if you’re the one who blows the whistle, you might reasonably be concerned about being punished. And the SEC takes participation in any wrongdoing into account when deciding whether to grant you a reward, and how much that reward should be.

Our SEC whistleblower attorneys can help with this as well. Drawing on our extensive experience with securities law and the SEC whistleblower process, we make the best possible case for our clients. If you initially reported the fraud through an internal process at your organization, for example, we can make sure you meet the deadline for receiving an award for also reporting it to the SEC. We can explain your involvement, or lack of involvement, in a way that’s accurate but still puts you in a good light.

People who are willing to disclose illegal activity at their employers are a very important part of the SEC whistleblower program. Without insiders who are willing to tell the truth, the agency would have less ability to protect American investors from fraud and self-dealing.

If you’re considering blowing the whistle on wrongdoing related to your work on Wall Street, the Law Firm of David R. Chase and the Silver Law Group can help. Attorney David Chase is extremely familiar with how the SEC builds its cases—having spent four years in the agency’s Enforcement Division—and can use that knowledge to help you present your whistleblower claim in a way that gets the SEC’s attention. Attorney Scott Silver is an experienced securities lawyer who wrote a primer on the whistleblower program. To set up a free, confidential meeting where we can talk about your concerns and our next steps, call us today at 800.975.4345 or send us a message online.