SEC Annual Report: A Valuable Resource for the Potential SEC
Whistleblower, SEC Whistleblower Lawyer, and SEC Whistleblower
Law Firm

Questions Clients Often Ask An SEC Whistleblower Law Firm

As an SEC whistleblower lawyer, I often hear questions like
“How many whistleblower tips does the SEC get each year?” “How
many tips get through to the investigation stage?” and other
similar questions.  It is not uncommon for a client to ask one
or more of these questions when interviewing a potential
SEC whistleblower law firm.

Because the SEC whistleblower program has not been around for
decades, there is not a lot of hard data about it yet.  This
can sometimes make it difficult for an SEC whistleblower
lawyer to answer questions about it with a high degree of
specificity.  For an
SEC whistleblower law firm, this problem is compounded by the fact that the SEC has
only kept full-year statistics on its whistleblower program
since fiscal year 2012.

SEC Annual Report: A Wealth of Data for an SEC Whistleblower
Law Firm

Fortunately, every year the SEC is required to submit an
annual report to Congress on the SEC whistleblower program. 
This report can be a valuable resource for an SEC
whistleblower law firm, and for potential SEC whistleblowers.

The SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower (“OWB”) recently
released its annual report to Congress for fiscal year 2016
(the “Report”).  This year’s Report states that:

• In FY 2016, the SEC gave out more than $57 million in
  whistleblower awards, “higher than all award amounts issued
  in previous years combined”.
• Six of the ten largest SEC whistleblower awards were given
  out in FY 2016, an indication that the SEC whistleblower
  program is growing.  (Report, p. 10.)
• Since the inception of the SEC whistleblower program, the
  Commission has awarded more than $111 million.  (Report, p.
  1.)
• In FY 2016, The SEC received over 4,218 tips from
  whistleblowers, “a more than 40 percent increase” since FY
  2012.  (Report, pp. 1, 23.)
• Since August 2011, the SEC has received 18,334 whistleblower
  tips.  (Report, p. 23.)

According to the report, the OWB “tracks whistleblower tips
that are referred to Enforcement staff for investigation or
follow-up.  OWB is currently tracking over 800 matters in
which a whistleblower’s tip has caused a Matter Under Inquiry
or investigation to be opened or which have been forwarded to
Enforcement staff for review and consideration in connection
with an ongoing investigation.”  (Report, p. 27.)

There are some variables that I do not have data for.  But
based on these figures, a reasonable estimate would be that
approximately 5%-7% of all whistleblower tips that the SEC
receives cause investigations to be opened or substantially
contribute to ongoing investigations.  These are prerequisites
to obtaining an SEC whistleblower award.

For Those Considering Whether to Hire an SEC Whistleblower Law
Firm

For potential SEC whistleblowers, these percentages are
important.  They highlight the importance of hiring a
knowledgeable SEC whistleblower law firm.  An experienced SEC
whistleblower law firm can help to focus the facts and issues,
connect them to the securities laws, and present them in a
compelling way.  These things will hopefully increase the
chances of a tip leading to the opening of an investigation or
substantially assisting in an already ongoing investigation.

This comports with comments made in a speech by the SEC’s
Director of Enforcement in September.  In his speech, the
Director said that the SEC welcomes the involvement of SEC
whistleblower law firms.  He also described some of the ways
that they can add value to the SEC whistleblower process.  You
can read my post about the Director’s speech
here.

The SEC’s Annual Report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank
Whistleblower Program contains a lot of other interesting
information.  If you would like to read the Report for FY
2016, you can find it by clicking on the link next to the
picture above.

* * *

About the Pickholz Law Offices LLC

The Pickholz Law Offices LLC is a law firm that focuses on
representing clients involved with investigations conducted by
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, and other
securities regulators.

The Pickholz Law Offices has represented employees, officers,
and others in SEC whistleblower cases involving financial
institutions and public companies listed in the Fortune Top
10, Top 20, Top 50, Top 100, Top 500, and the Forbes Global
2000. We were the first law firm ever to win an SEC
whistleblower award for a client on appeal to the full
Commission in Washington. Inside Counsel magazine named this
achievement one of the five key events of the SEC
whistleblower program. Examples of the
Firm’s SEC whistleblower cases are available here.

In addition to representing SEC whistleblowers, since 1995 the
Firm’s founder, Jason R. Pickholz, has also represented many
clients in securities enforcement investigations conducted by
the SEC, FINRA, the U.S. Department of Justice and US
Attorney’s Offices, State authorities, and more. Examples of
some of the many
securities enforcement cases that Mr. Pickholz has been
involved with are available here.

You can see what actual clients have had to say about The
Pickholz Law Offices by going to the
Client Reviews page on our website or by clicking here.

How to Contact the Pickholz Law Offices LLC

If you would like to speak with a securities lawyer or SEC
whistleblower attorney, please feel free to call Jason R.
Pickholz at 347-746-1222.

The Pickholz Law Offices remains open and will be fully
operational through teleworking while we all grapple with this
terrible pandemic. We hope that all of our clients,
colleagues, friends, and their families remain safe and
healthy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has
been affected by COVID-19.