The Dodd-Frank reforms of 2010 aimed to significantly upgrade the regulatory structure of the U.S. financial sector, including making it easier for corporate whistleblowers to report suspected wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Now, law firm Labaton Sucharow LLP is aiming to improve that process by launching SECWhistleblowerAdvocate.com.

According to the firm, the new site is meant to “serve as a go-to resource for organizations striving to establish a culture of integrity and for individuals who have knowledge of corporate wrongdoing.”

The Whistleblower Advocate site collects documents—including the “SEC Whistleblower Program Handbook” [PDF], a “Securities Law Primer” [PDF], and the relevant sections of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act [PDF]—alongside a series of videos outlining basic information about the whistleblower program and practical tips for whistleblowers.

The development of the site was spearheaded by Jordan Thomas, a former assistant director and assistant chief litigation counsel in the SEC Division of Enforcement—where he helped draft the new whistleblower rules—who currently chairs the whistleblower representation practice at Labaton Sucharow. He founded the practice when he joined the firm in July 2011.

Thomas says he views Whistleblower Advocate as an important extension of the existing web presence the SEC created for its whistleblower program. “I think the SEC whistleblower site covers certain aspects of the program well, but the commission can’t advise people on whether, how, or when to report violations of the law,” he says, adding that his site also includes a section aimed at helping companies create a more ethical, compliant culture to “avoid having whistleblowers needing to come forward.”

He also points out that the site was organized based on his combined experience working at the SEC and the firm. “At the commission I had the opportunity to work with whistleblowers and see what they were submitting,” he says. “Now I work with them full time, so I have a good sense of what they’re concerned about.

“I’ve devoted the better part of my professional life to protecting investors,” he says, noting that part of his current practice includes speaking with corporate officers and general counsel about creating “a culture of integrity that will inoculate organizations” from having issues with the SEC in the first place.

The firm says it is the first in the U.S. to develop a practice “exclusively focused on protecting and advocating for whistleblowers who report possible securities violations to the SEC.”

“The SEC Whistleblower Program has the potential to revolutionize the way securities laws are enforced, but being a whistleblower isn’t always easy, glamorous, or lucrative,” says Thomas.

See also: “SEC Lists 13 New Actions Eligible for Whistleblower Bounties,” CorpCounsel, February 2012.