Mary Jane Wilmoth is the firm’s managing partner. She litigated cases involving whistleblower protection for environmental and nuclear industry whistleblowers, and Qui Tam/False Claims whistleblowers. Ms. Wilmoth joined the firm in 1992 and worked on cases and hearings that involved complex nuclear and environmental regulations.
In her efforts to uphold such safeguards in the American workplace, she has helped to strengthen whistleblower rights in licensing and enforcement proceedings with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She has also defended whistleblowers at the Environmental Protection Agency in actions before the Department of Labor.
Ms. Wilmoth is a Trustee at the National Whistleblower Center Legal Defense & Education Fund. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center, where she serves as the corporate secretary and treasurer. She is also the Editor of the Whistleblower Network News blog.
Promoting International Qui Tam Whistleblowing
Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto has played an instrumental role in advancing whistleblower rights worldwide. Currently the partners represent whistleblowers from every continent on earth (except Antarctica) in pursuing whistleblower reward cases under U.S. laws.
Steve Kohn has been sponsored by the U.S. Department of State to promote whistleblowing on a world-wide scale, including special seminars and programs in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia and Thailand. He has given major keynote addresses in Peru and Greece and presented in numerous international conferences and has testified on behalf of whistleblowers before the European Parliament and the Danish Parliament. Mike Kohn has made major international presentations in Poland, South Korea and Israel. The firm filed extensive comments supporting greater whistleblower protections in the now-approved European Directive on Whistleblowing.
Whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn and partners of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto regularly advise congress on crafting whistleblower laws. And play an instrumental role in drafting whistleblower protection laws, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act.
SEC & IRS Rulemaking
During the Dodd-Frank rulemaking process, our partners worked closely with the SEC to create an effective whistleblower program. Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto’s partners met personally with each of the five SEC Commissioners. They presented them with detailed reports and proposals setting forth rules that were essential to make the law work for Dodd-Frank whistleblowers as intended by Congress. Furthermore, Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto’s whistleblower attorneys seek to protect and enhance legal protections for tax fraud whistleblowers. Our firm has filed numerous internal revenue service rulemaking petitions, filed extensive briefs to the IRS and testified at IRS rulemaking hearsing to strengthen the tax whistleblower program.
[Read More]In recognition of the growing importance of whistleblower litigation, The National Law Journal named the whistleblower attorney and advocacy law firm of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto as one of top fifty plaintiff’s law firms in the United States. The firm’s partners were officially named as among “America’s Elite Trial Lawyers.” In its September 29, 2014 article, “Elite Trial Lawyers: The 50 Leading Plaintiff’s Firms in America,” the National Law Journal named Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto as one of the firm’s “doing the most creative and most important work in the courtroom.”
- 2019 - 2024 – LawDragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers
- 2013-2020 – A-V Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell®
- 2014 – “Elite Trial Lawyers” Designation, National Law Journal (Awarded to KKC LLP)
- 2014 – America’s Most Honored Professionals, American Registry (Awarded to KKC LLP)
- 2009 – Top Attorneys, Washington DC Super Lawyers (Awarded to KKC LLP)
- 2008 – Friend of the IEEE Award
- 2003 – “Hot List” of Plantiff’s Law Firms, National Law Journal
- In the Matter of Georgia Power Company, 37 NRC 96 (1993). Established standard for NRC licensing proceedings related to the character and competence of nuclear managers.
- Hobby v. Georgia Power Co., Case No. 90-ERA-30 (U.S. Dept. of Labor), No. 01-10916 (11th Cir. 2002) (argued). Co-counsel in judicial and administrative litigation over a ten-year period establishing numerous precedents in Labor Department corporate whistleblower cases regarding liability and damages available to high ranking corporate officers. Having obtained over $5,000,000 in total damages, this case continues to represent the largest financial victory by any nuclear/environmental whistleblower.
- Mosbaugh v. Georgia Power Co., 91-ERA-1 (ALJ Oct. 30, 1992) (co-counsel at hearing and on appeals). Established key precedent governing when a whistleblower can engage in one-party taping to document misconduct. Whistleblower was ordered reinstated with full back pay after being fired for taping conversations of corporate executives conspiring to violate safety rules.
- Opthof v. Ashland Chemical Co., 94-CAA-7 (ALJ May 8, 1995). Co-counsel. Prevailed at merits hearing on behalf of wrongfully discharged chemical engineer.
- Linda Tripp v. Department of Defense, 104 F. Supp.2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000), 99-2554 (2001) 173 F.Supp. 2d 58 (D.D.C. 2001), 193 F.Supp.2d 229 (D.D.C. 2002), 01-157 (D.D.C 2002) 219 F.Supp.2d 85 (D.D.C. 2002), 99-2554 (D.D.C. 2002) 257 F.Supp.2d 37 (D.D.C. 2003), 194 F.R.D. 344 (D.D.C. 2000) and 200 F.R.D. 140 (D.D.C. 2001). Precedent setting litigation on behalf of nationally recognized whistleblower. Case resulted in one of the largest Privacy Act settlements ever awarded by the U.S. government.
- Dr. Frederic Whitehurst v. FBI (administrative and judicial proceedings in 1993-98). Successfully represented first nationally recognized FBI whistleblower. Case resulted in President Clinton ordering the Attorney General to establish whistleblower protections for FBI employees for the first time. See Memorandum of President William Jefferson Clinton, Vol. 62 Federal Register No. 81, p. 23123 (April 14, 1997). In addition, the case achieved the accreditation of the FBI crime laboratory and the re-opening and/or review of thousands of criminal cases tainted by fraudulent laboratory procedures. Dr. Whitehurst obtained a final million-dollar plus settlement to resolve allegations of violations of the Privacy Act and other federal laws.
What Clients are Saying
“Among the most experienced and skilled attorneys practicing in the specialization of whistleblower law”
“I couldn’t have navigated the shark invested waters whistleblower face without the passion, dedication, determination, and brilliance of my incredible attorneys.”
“…the three co-founders of the National Whistleblower Center, these are important names, Stephen Kohn, Michael Kohn and David Colapinto, thank you so much for all that you do, they broke the mold with these visionaries and we are all better for it.” – National Whistleblower Day, 2018
Mary Jane's Latest Thinking
Proposed Rule Changes Will Undermine SEC Whistleblower Program
The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC or Commission) proposed amendments to the SEC Whistleblower Program will undermine the program, according to the research of top whistleblower attorneys. This research, conducted by experienced SEC whistleblower attorneys at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto (KKC), reveals that what appears to be a minor technical amendment will devastate the program. As explained in a letter to the SEC Commissioners that was officially filed in the Commission rulemaking proceeding, among the most damaging of the SEC’s proposed changes is a new rule, 9(e). This proposed rule would make the filing of a TCR mandatory, before any other form of contact with the Commission. If a whistleblower contacts anyone at the SEC without first having filed a TCR, that whistleblower would automatically be ineligible for an award. In this letter the expert qui tam attorneys at whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto stated that the proposed amendments will have a "radical and detrimental impact on ...
Top SEC Whistleblower Attorneys Join Coalition Supporting Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Reforms
Yesterday, the nation's top whistleblower attorneys, Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto (KKC), joined a coalition of whistleblower advocates in thanking the sponsors of the Whistleblower Programs Improvement Act (WPIA). The WPIA, introduced on September 23rd, is a bipartisan effort to improve the whistleblower reward and anti-retaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. The bill sponsors are Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Richard Durbin (D-Illinois). This bill aims to clarify the Congressional intent of the Dodd-Frank Act to protect and reward SEC and CFTC whistleblowers. In February 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped protections from "internal" whistleblowers who report fraud to directly to their company rather than to regulatory authorities. Since the Digital Realty Trust v. Somers (No. 16-1276) decision, whistleblower advocates have called for a legislative response from Congress. "There's no reason why those who want to report wrongdoing internally should face potential retaliation from the exact people ...
Protecting Whistleblowers is a Bipartisan Tradition in the United States
The treatment of the Trump whistleblower complaint has whistleblower advocates worried about the effect on other potential intelligence community whistleblowers. The Trump whistleblower followed the procedures put in place for the Intelligence community, yet government officials refused to transmit the complaint to Congress. The President also quickly began a campaign to discredit the anonymous whistleblower, firing off retaliatory remarks, including questioning the whistleblower's loyalty to the United States. "If you work in the intelligence community, you must bring your concern to the inspector general before you go to Congress. If you work for HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development), you can go right to your member of Congress or the committee that has jurisdiction over housing. Those are two major differences we see play out," top whistleblower attorney David Colapinto, a partner at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto (KKC), explained during an NPR interview. The Trump whistleblower went through proper channels, and ...
Our Client Received the Largest Whistleblower Reward in World History of $104 Million
Bradley Birkenfeld broke the back of Swiss bank secrecy. He was the first Swiss banker to file a case under the IRS whistleblower law. The results were unprecedented. UBS bank (at the time the largest bank in the world) had to pay a fine of $780 million. They also had to close all known U.S. accounts, and for the first time in history, the bank turned over the names of 4450 U.S. taxpayers for prosecution in the United States. Mr. Birkenfeld obtained the largest ever individual qui tam whistleblower award in history, $104 million.
Pro Bono Public Service
Dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) was founded in 1988 by three experienced whistleblower-rights attorneys, Stephen M. Kohn, Michael D. Kohn and David K. Colapinto. Mary Jane was selected as the NWC's first Public Interest Law Fellow, and soon became a major leader in the NWC. She currently is the NWC corporate Treasure and serves on its Board of Directors. She founded the whistleblower protection blog, and for years managed many of the NWC's highly successful programs.