April 28, 2012
Bernstein Liebhard LLP whistleblower attorney, Rebecca M. Katz, was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal (“WSJ”) concerning the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) policy for protecting whistleblower confidentiality. As reported by the WSJ on April 26, 2012, the SEC has come under fire after the identity of an informant was allegedly revealed to the informant’s employer. The disclosure has prompted congressional calls for an inquiry into the details of how the agency protects whistleblower confidentiality. The SEC has adamantly denied that the agency exposed the whistleblower’s identity or did anything to compromise the informant’s confidentiality.
As a former senior enforcement lawyer for the SEC and attorney in Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s SEC whistleblower practice, Ms. Katz is well aware of the risks that whistleblowers take when choosing to come forward, and emphasized the importance of protecting their confidentiality. While surprised at how the SEC investigation was handled, Ms. Katz cautioned that this incident should not deter potential informants from coming forward, stating that SEC whistleblower “investigations are confidential.” Ms. Katz stressed that in her experience, the agency’s lawyers “are really careful, and worried about protecting confidentiality.”
Bernstein Liebhard LLP – Whistleblower Attorneys
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is dedicated to providing representation for whistleblowers looking to blow the whistle on those who commit fraud on the government or who violate the tax laws and the federal securities laws. In addition to Rebecca M. Katz, the Bernstein Liebhard LLP whistleblower attorney practice group includes Partners Jeffrey M. Haber and Christian Siebott, and Associate James M. Weir, a former whistleblower lawyer from the New York Attorney General’s Office. For more information concerning the firm’s whistleblower practice, please contact Rebecca M. Katz at (212) 779-1414.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993. The firm has pursued hundreds of securities, consumer and shareholder rights cases and recovered over $3 billion for its clients. It has been named by The National Law Journal to the “Plaintiffs’ Hot List,” recognizing the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country, for the past nine consecutive years. Only two firms in the country have been selected for the Hot List nine years in a row.
