How to Choose a NYC Whistle Blower Attorney

If you are thinking about presenting information about fraud or corporate crime to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), then you may want to consider hiring a NYC whistle blower attorney.  The decision to hire a NYC whistle blower attorney to help you with your case is particularly important if you are hoping to obtain an SEC whistleblower award for your information.  Provided that all other requirements are met, whistle blowers who provide information leading to the collection of $1 million or more by the SEC, are entitled to receive a reward of 10% - 30% of the total collected.

While the program has received thousands of tips since it was established in 2010, every individual who submits a tip to the SEC does not automatically get an SEC whistleblower reward.  There are many factors that can affect whether someone gets an SEC whistle blower award, and the amount of that award.  Some of those factors include:

• The type and quality of the information provided;
• The timeliness of the information; and
• The usefulness of the information to the SEC;
• Following all of the SEC’s procedures and Rules;
• Continuing to assist the SEC if requested;
• Properly submitting an application for an award upon completion of the SEC’s case;
• And many other possible steps that may, but do not always, arise during the process.

An experienced NYC whistle blower attorney can be extremely beneficial in helping you to navigate the SEC whistle blower process. Here are some things you might want to consider when choosing the best attorney to present your case:

Experience: This may seem like an obvious qualification, but the fact that an NYC whistle blower attorney has experience with other kinds of whistle blower cases does not mean he or she has extensive experience handling SEC whistle blower cases.  The rules and requirements of the SEC are unique and complicated.  The SEC has developed its own way of doing things for over 80 years.  The SEC whistle blower program was not created until 2010.  Since it is so new, finding an attorney who has many years of experience representing clients in SEC cases prior to 2010 may be a very important factor for you to consider.

Recognition: Attorneys want you to hire them, so they all try to sound like they are the best.  Does the attorney you are considering have an established reputation as both a whistle blower attorney and as a securities attorney?  Has the NYC whistle blower attorney received public recognition for their legal accomplishments?

Success: While many cases have been presented to the SEC, only a select few have resulted in rewards.  Very few attorneys can claim to have successfully won an SEC whistleblower award for a client.  Even fewer have had any success in the most difficult of cases:  convincing the SEC to grant an SEC whistleblower award after the SEC’s staff has already denied it.  To date (January 2017), this has only happened 2 times.

With 22 years of experience handling complex SEC cases, and having represented SEC whistle blowers since the program began, Jason R. Pickholz, the founder of The Pickholz Law Offices, may be the right SEC whistleblower lawyer for you.  Mr. Pickholz was one of the first SEC whistleblower attorneys to win an SEC whistleblower award for a client.  He was also the first attorney ever to win an SEC whistleblower reward for a client on appeal to the SEC, after the SEC’s staff had already denied the client an award.  Inside Counsel magazine named this victory as a milestone of the SEC whistleblower program.  In recognition of his achievements as a securities lawyer and an SEC whistleblower attorney, Mr. Pickholz was nominated and elected by his peers to be a Fellow of the New York State Bar Foundation.  Being elected as a Fellow is an honor that is limited to just 1% of the 74,000 lawyers in the New York State Bar.

If you would like to speak with an attorney at an SEC whistleblower law firm, please give us a call for a free consultation with Mr. Pickholz.  This initial conversation, up to one hour, is free of charge and is for the purpose of helping you decide if you would like to hire Mr. Pickholz and The Pickholz Law Offices.