- J.D. Northeastern University School of Law (1984)
- M.A. Brown University (1981)
- B.S. Boston University, magna cum laude (1979)
State
- District of Columbia
Federal
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and other Federal District Courts
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.
Mr. Kohn’s major contributions to whistleblower law include:
- 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.
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.
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.”
2020
Lawdragon 500 Leading Plantiff Financial Lawyer
2019
Lawdragon 500 Leading Plantiff Financial Lawyer
Legal Leaders: Top Rated Lawyers 2019
Trust! Top Thought Leaders in Trust: Lifetime Achievement Award (2019)
2018
Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, Marquis Who’s Who
Whistleblower Law Firm of the Year, Lawyer International
2017
Whistleblower Law Firm of the Year in Washington DC, Global Law Experts Awards
2016-2020
Who’s Who in the East, Marquis Who’s Who
[Read More]- Will the SEC’s Proposed Whistleblower Rules Undermine the Deterrent Effect of the Dodd Frank Act?
- Can OSHA Protect Coronavirus Whistleblowers?
- The SEC Cannot Abandon Its Rules Protecting Internal Whistleblowers
- The SEC Whistleblower Rule Changes Explained
- What’s at Stake With the New SEC Whistleblower Rules?
- No longer the ‘skunks at the picnic:’ Poll finds strong support for whistleblowers
- Will the SEC undermine America’s most successful corporate whistleblower law?
- How firing inspector general Atkinson impacts the government’s ability to fight coronavirus
- Can the whistleblower’s reputation survive President Trump’s impeachment defense?
- The Trump-Ukraine whistleblower has a statutory right to confidentiality: it’s the law
- What Makes a Whistleblower Law Successful in Today’s Globalized World? (Part V)
- What Makes a Whistleblower Law Successful in Today’s Globalized World? (Part IV)
- What Makes a Whistleblower Law Successful in Today’s Globalized World? (Part III)
- What Makes a Whistleblower Law Successful in Today’s Globalized World? (Part II)
- What Makes a Whistleblower Law Successful in Today’s Globalized World? (Part I)
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.
Belgrade, Serbia (October 27-28, 2016): Anti-Corruption Conference “For Every Truth There Is a Source: Protecting Whistleblowers and Journalistic Sources,” hosted by the Serbian whistleblower advocacy group Pištaljkaa (The Whistle), and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Information:
- Journalism and Whistleblowers: Threats and Opportunities (Panelist)
- Whistleblowing, Justice, and Journalism: The Way Forward (Panelist)
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (May 26, 2015): Presentation sponsored by Luna-Centre for Responsible Democracy and the American Chamber of Commerce in Bosnia-Herzegovina with the support of the U.S. Embassy International Speakers Program.
- Conducted seminar as part of Sarajevo Whistleblower Week: “Breakthrough in Protecting International Whistleblowers: Non-United States Citizens Now Entitled to Whistleblower Protections and Rewards.”
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (March 3-8, 2012): Presentations sponsored by U.S. Embassy:
- Public Presentation: “The Fight Against Corruption and the Role of the Citizen, the Role of the Whistleblower”
- Participation in the Founding Assembly of “Uzbunjivaci protiv korupcije,” a Bosnian anti-corruption and whistleblower advocacy organization
- Presentation and meeting with the Chairwoman of the House of Parliament for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Presentation and meeting with Assistant Minster of Justice
- Public Lecture, Faculty of Criminal Justice
- Presentation and meeting with President of State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 . . .”
Steve’s Latest Thinking
What Makes A Whistleblower Law Successful In Today’s Globalized World? Part IV
Originally published in Mondaq In order to be truly successful at preventing fraud, whistleblower protections must cover disclosures permitted under i ...
What Makes A Whistleblower Law Successful In Today’s Globalized World? Part II
Originally posted in Mondaq Reward programs for whistleblowers are in nations' best interests and serve as a form of anti-retaliation insurance for wh ...
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 ...