Phillips & Cohen partner Sean McKessy tells Reuters that the SEC risks pushing whistleblowers away if it makes changes to its whistleblower reward guidelines:
Sean McKessy, who set up the SEC whistleblower office and is now a partner at Phillips & Cohen LLP, was among those who met with Clayton, according to the calendars.
He and Clayton discussed modifying the proposal to give SEC staff more flexibility to issue an award even if the claim was not filed within the 30 day window, according to McKessy and a letter he submitted to the SEC two days later. They also discussed reconsidering the discretionary caps.
“Imposing more agency discretion on its awards only suggests to whistleblowers that the SEC plans to make restrictive an already complicated and risky process,” McKessy told Reuters.
Read the entire article “U.S. regulator rethinking changes to whistleblower program after backlash – sources,” on Reuters’ website.