The Best Advice for Whistleblowers

As a whistleblower lawyer who handles cases all over the country from Jersey City to San Francisco, I have the greatest amount of respect for people who have the courage to come forth and put it all on the line to blow the whistle on things they know are wrong and need to be righted. The companies who engage in these frauds are the villains, and the whistleblowers deserve to be knighted.

Each year I compile a list of lessons learned and try to impart the wisdom of our whistleblower law firm onto those that are thinking of blowing the whistle, but don’t know what do. Here is my 2018 list of advice for whistleblowers.

Patience is a Virtue

Good things happen to people who know how to wait, but not to those who wait too late. There’s many different ways to blow the whistle, whether it’s through the False Claims Act (FCA) which addresses defrauding the government via companies committing Medicare Fraud, Medicaid Fraud and Defense Contractor Fraud, SEC Whistleblowers who disclose when the financial companies don’t have the best interest of the clients in mind including inside trading, pump and dumps, cryptocurrency and ICO fraud, CFTC whistleblowers who blow the whistle on the commodities frauds, and IRS whistleblowers who have substantial information regarding tax cheats. Due to the first filed rule, you need to make sure that you promptly file your case if its actionable, but don’t expect things to happen overnight. Sure, some of False Claims Act lawsuits take a year, but generally it’s a long process with extended periods of quiet time and once the FCA complaint is filed its out of your hands for a bit while the government decides what it’s going to do. Make sure you’re working with a False Claims Act law firm that you feel you have a connection with and that is affirmatively going to update you about your case and that you can reach out to on a regular basis even when nothing is going on to speak about your whistleblower case and answer all your questions – even if it’s again and again! A good qui tam lawyer will have gone through the qui tam process many of times, and this is probably your only time. It shouldn’t ever be a bother for them to comfort you in your time of need and curiosity. Some cases can take five or six years to play out and some longer. Remember to enjoy the road, because it’s a long one; don’t just think about the destination.

Think about your Parachute

The whistleblower statutes contemplate cases coming from those on the inside, in a superior position to provide information of wrongdoings, corporate fraud, and outright cheats. A good insider is generally an employee or close to those that will be held accountable when the case is ultimately disclosed. Even though almost every whistleblower statute imaginable has a provision that prohibits whistleblower retaliation, it will happen. The timing may be out of your control about when your identity is disclosed or when the company will conduct an internal hunt for who it thinks could be cooperating, but you have a running start since you’re the one commencing the action. Start to think about what your options are if you have to leave the company. Work on your resume. Look for other opportunities. Also, consider depending on how radical the fraud is do you really want to continue working at the company. We all need to make a living, but if you feel you’re compromising your soul, you need to search whether it’s worth it. Some egregious frauds we’ve encountered are Medicare Frauds where the doctors perform unnecessary surgery just so they can bill for it, Defense Contractor Fraud, where the company takes a shortcut and puts our soldiers at risk, and things like churning and bilking people’s accounts in the SEC context, where the company is hiding fees, taking fees, or doing other things to exploit people’s investments and retirements. You should think about your exit strategy early and generally when you’re still employed it’s an easier time to find new work. Further, it will be easier to find new work before the extent of the fraud of the company becomes public or else when you’re interviewing the taint of the dirty company may make it harder to find a new job.

Find a Whistleblower Law Firm You Feel Comfortable Working With

While the qui tam lawyers at our firm are personable, hardworking and have a track record of success, the chemistry needs to be right between our firm and the whistleblower we’ll be working with for us to consider representation. We’ve turned down cases that are actionable False Claims Act cases because we didn’t think there would be good chemistry and you should be discerning as well. Questions you should consider are will you have access to the qui tam lawyers handling your case, the head of the firm, and can the whistleblower lawyers contact you after hours or on the weekends when it may be easier for you to speak.

There is a proverb in the legal realm that a person who represents his or her own self in court has a fool for a client. There’s quite a bit of information and misinformation online regarding qui tam lawsuits. One thing is for certain; as of this writing in order to file a False Claims Act lawsuit, you must use a lawyer. That is, you cannot bring the action yourself pro-se without an attorney. You shouldn’t do it anyway, as even an attempt to file a whistleblower action the wrong way could result in you losing your case right from the start.

I hope these points added some guidance to you if you’re thinking about filing a whistleblower lawsuit. Even if our dedicated team of whistleblower lawyers is not the right fit for you in the long-term, we’d love to speak with you about your potential case in the short-term and go over in depth whether we help you with your matter or at least steer you in the right direction. We protect whistleblowers coast to coast, so whether you’re in Jersey City or San Diego, Houston, or Tampa or anywhere in between, feel free to call our whistleblower lawyers at (877) 561-0000, for a free whistleblower consultation and no matter what, we’ll wish you the best of luck with your qui tam case.