About Whistleblower Attorney Stephen M. Kohn
Stephen M. Kohn is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading qui tam and whistleblower attorneys. He won the largest ever individual whistleblower reward/qui tam payment for UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld ($104 million reward for Mr. Birkenfeld). His record of winning whistleblower cases dates back to 1984, and he was peer-review rated by the National Law Journal as one of the 50-top plaintiff’s lawyers in the United States, the only whistleblower rights lawyer to achieve this distinction. His successful advocacy has resulted in landmark precedents in whistleblower and qui tam law.
Kohn helped draft key whistleblower legislation and regulatory rules, including those incorporated into the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, the IRS Qui Tam whistleblower amendments, and Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. He is the author of the first legal treatise on whistleblowing and is the world’s most published author on whistleblower protection. His most recent book is The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself. In 1988 he helped found the National Whistleblower Center, where is currently serves, pro bono, as Chairman of the Board. Steve Kohn also teaches an annual seminar on Whistleblower Law at the Northeastern University School of Law.
Our Client Received the Largest Whistleblower Reward in World History of $104 Million
What Clients are Saying
“The only lawyer on my side was Steve Kohn. He was as smart as they come and feisty as a pit bull. Steve was convinced the government owed me a fat reward, and he was going to get it, or die trying.”
“An absolutely first rate lawyer. . . keenly interested in utilizing the law as a rational instrument of social change and improving the quality of life or the week, the poor and the unpowerful.”
“[Steve Kohn] is an outstanding person, with a very keen mind, a true gift for research, an extremely capable writer, and an eloquent speaker.”
“I want to try to express my feelings of gratitude for what you are doing for me, but I’m not sure that words will do the job . . . The bureaucrats almost won; not because they were legally right, but rather, because they have the power and influence to be able to crush any resistance . . . You are rendering a great service, not only to individuals like myself, but to our country a well.”
“Steve Kohn is the nation’s outstanding whistleblower lawyer.”
“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
“When I had to blow the whistle it was very very difficult. I was lucky I had my daughter and I was lucky I had Stephen Kohn in my life. . .he [Stephen Kohn] dragged me across the finish line . . . he stayed with me, he kept me going . . .”
Mr. Kohn’s major contributions to whistleblower law
- Obtaining the largest reward ever granted an individual under U.S. whistleblower reward laws and first major award granted under the IRS rewards program ($104 million dollars).
- Chief attorney in Dodd-Frank Act whistleblower case finding restrictive nondisclosure agreements illegal under U.S. securities laws.
- Established key legal precedents under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act and IRS Qui Tam whistleblower reward law, including ensuring that employees who “participated” in fraud were eligible for rewards provided they did not “plan and initiate” those frauds.
- Successfully represented key Swiss banking whistleblowers who triggered the historic prosecutions of Swiss banks (resulting in over $15 billion in sanctions, fines and settlements).
- Leading the National Whistleblower Center’s pro bono campaign to establish qui tam and whistleblower rewards for whistleblowers under the Lacey and Endangered Species Acts.
Successful Legal Advocacy: Top Cases
Other Successful Cases
Publications
The National Law Review
The Hill
The Washington Post
The New York Times
Mondaq
The Guardian
Promarket
Military Whistleblower Laws Breached in Removal of Naval Officer who Warned of COVID-19 Outbreak
On April 2, 2020, the Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly removed the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Brett Crozier, after he disclosed w ...
Whistleblowing and The Coronavirus Crisis
Fraudsters take advantage of a crisis, even when lives are at stake. This type of misconduct is why America’s first two whistleblower laws were born ...
Can Whistleblowers Stop Money Laundering? An Analysis Of The Illicit Cash Act’s Whistleblower Provision
This article was originally published in Mondaq Currently pending in the U.S. Congress is Senate Bill 2563, the Illicit Cash Act. This bipartisan bill ...
The Rise Of International Whistleblowers: Qui Tam Rewards For Non-U.S. Citizens
Originally published in Mondaq Thousands of non-U.S. citizens, from over 120 countries, are actively using U.S. laws to report serious economic crimes ...
The Intersection between the Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts: Qui Tam Whistleblower Rewards under SOX
On July 30, 2002 Congress passed the most sweeping enhancement of securities laws in a generation: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (also commonly referred to a ...
Who Must Protect the Ukraine-Trump Whistleblower?
From the National Law Review As the impeachment proceedings heat-up, and calls for the Ukraine whistleblower to be identified increase, there remains ...
Big Win for Qui Tam Whistleblowers
Washington, D.C. February 9, 2018. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed into law today by President Trump, included two key whistleblower qui ta ...
13.769 Billion Reasons to Thank Whistleblowers on Tax Day
April 18, 2016. Today is “Tax Day,” when millions of Americans honestly pay their fair share of taxes. Today is also a day we all owe thanks to the wh ...
The FCA Does Not Permit Recovery for Violations of “Any Fine-Print Regulatory Requirement”
The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America's most effective whistleblower law, the Fa ...
Media Appearances
ABC World News Tonight, BBC World News Tonight, BBC, “Burden of Proof” on CNN, “Capital Gains” on Bloomberg TV, CBS Evening News, CNN World News, “Crosstalk” on MSNBC, CSNBC, “The Early Show” on CBS, “Good Morning America” on ABC, “The Jack Ford Show” on MSNBC, “Hannity & Colmes” on FOXNEWS, “Hardball” on MSNBC, “The Johnnie Cochran Show” on Court-TV, “Larry King Live” on CNN, “Miller’s Law” on Court-TV, NBC Nightly News, “Nightline” on ABC, “The O’Reilly Factor” on FOXNEWS, “Primetime Live” on ABC, “Rivera Live” on MSNBC, “The Today Show” on NBC, “Close-Up” on C-SPAN, “60 Minutes” on CBS, “Washington Journal,” “HuffPost Live” and on CSPAN.
Whistleblower Law Books
Stephen Kohn wrote the first ever legal law book on whistleblower law and is one of the most published authors on whistleblower law. He has taught classes on whistleblower law at the Northeastern University School of Law, as well as Antioch School of Law.
Steve’s Latest Book: The New Whistleblower’s Handbook
“If you’re among the 34% of Americans who have seen wrongdoing at their job, you may want to add this book to your Christmas wish list. Just don’t let your boss catch you reading it.”
“For the past 25 years, Kohn’s been in the trenches fighting the whistleblower wars. The lessons learned from those wars have been distilled in this book.”
“With the Holy Bible in one hand and Mr. Kohn’s Whistleblower Handbook in the other, my wife crushed a powerful corporation.”
“Top ten books about whistleblowers”
“Vastly shrewd and practical, but it also offers an astute long view of American whistle-blowing.”
“This book arms the whistleblower with the vital ammunition needed to effectively document corruption, while guiding them in how to Read More”
Stephen Kohn presents Senator Charles Grassley with an award recognizing his “Quarter Century as the Champion for Whistleblowers in the United States Senate.” (Dated: May 2007)
Awards and Recognition
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.”
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.
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 pursing 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.
Fighting in Congress for Expanded Whistleblower and Qui Tam Rights
Whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn and partners of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto regularly advise congress on crafting whistleblower laws and have played 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.
