Phillips & Cohen's expertise with whistleblower cases - including Medicare and Medicaid fraud, defense contractor fraud, off-label marketing by pharma companies, tax law violations and securities law violations -- is well recognized in the media. Below are some instances where Phillips & Cohen attorneys have been quoted in stories about various whistleblower programs and whistleblower issues.
News articles about Phillips & Cohen's whistleblower cases are listed on a separate page.
"Wall Street fights new whistleblower law," CNBC, 2/11/11.
"On December 17, the Business Roundtable, an organization of some of the country's most important CEOs, sent a letter to the SEC complaining that the new whistleblower rules will undermine companies' own compliance efforts. . . . But Eric Havian, a lawyer who represents whistleblowers, thinks the internal reporting argument is bogus. '. . . This is the new corporate line to kill the SEC whistleblower law. And it's absolutely baseless."
"Firms face sudden rush of whistleblower claims," Corporate Counsel, 9/9/10.
". . . Erika Kelton, partner at the plaintiffs' powerhouse Phillips & Cohen in Washington, D.C., agreed that the outpouring [of SEC whistleblowers] is huge. . . . Kelton was the lead attorney for a whistleblower suit against Pfizer Inc., which paid a record-setting $2.3 billion in mid-2009 to settle civil and criminal charges for using illegal sales tactics."
"Larger bounties spur surge in fraud tips," Wall Street Journal, 9/7/10.
"The SEC is offering some protections for informants. . . . These features, combined with the guaranteed minimum payout for whistle-blowers who qualify, are encouraging insiders to step forward, said Erika Kelton of Phillips & Cohen LLP."
"SEC Now Offering Big Payoffs To Whistle-Blowers," Time, 8/19/10.
"Money can be 'extraordinarily effective' in getting people to blow the whistle when they see fraud, says John Phillips, whose law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP specializes in whistleblower cases."
"In the past, the SEC's whistleblowing program was limited to insider trading cases and offered only small discretionary, rather than mandatory, rewards ranging from 0 to 10% of the money recovered. 'It was completely ineffectual, completely discretionary,' says Phillips."
"New whistleblower reward program has law firms gearing up," The Washington Post, 8/16/10.
"Already, some firms are letting potential whistleblowers know they are there to help.
"Phillips & Cohen, for instance, devotes a Web page to the change: 'If you are aware of any securities or tax law violations and would like to discuss the SEC, CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] or IRS whistleblower programs with a Phillips & Cohen attorney at no charge, please contact us.'
"Health-Fraud Whistleblower Cases May Surge Because of Federal Law Overhaul," Bloomberg, 7/28/10.
" 'Generally, the trend is up, up, up and more, more, more,' said Erika A. Kelton, a Washington-based attorney for Phillips & Cohen LLP. She represented John Kopchinski, a former Pfizer salesman, in a so-called qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuit against the New York-based company that yielded the $1 billion settlement."
"Financial crime whistleblowers to be rewarded," The Daily Transcript, 7/10/10.
" 'The SEC whistleblower provisions will be an extremely effective enforcement tool that will have an immediate impact, probably far quicker than any other aspect of the financial reform legislation,' said attorney Erika Kelton with Phillips & Cohen."
"Financial reform law includes big cash incentives for whistle-blowers," Los Angeles Times, 7/23/10.
"The new SEC whistleblower program 'is very significant and will have an immediate impact,' said Erika Kelton, a Washington lawyer who has represented whistle-blowers. 'It will motivate knowledgeable insiders to step forward and tell the enforcement agencies what they know. It is the secret weapon in this massive bill.'
"Goldman Sachs recently agreed to pay $550 million to settle a suit brought by the SEC accusing the investment banking firm of misleading investors who bought mortgage-backed securities just as the housing market collapsed. Had the case arisen from a whistle-blower's tip under the new law, 'it would mean at least $55 million for the whistle-blower,' Kelton said."
"Tax whistle-blowers can reap rewards," The Street.com, 3/31/08.
" 'A strong informant is an insider with a close perspective on what's been going on,' says Erika Kelton, a whistleblower attorney with Phillips & Cohen in San Francisco, Calif. . . . 'The more documentary materials the better," says Kelton, "but it's not always the case.'"
