5 Questions Would-Be Whistleblowers Need to Ask
Becoming a whistleblower is emotionally exhausting and potentially career-ending. We reached out to labor and employment attorneys about which questions employees should ask themselves when they're considering whether to expose wrongdoing by their companies.
May 03, 2017 at 03:56 PM
6 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Recorder
Blowing the whistle on a company or a client you represent will likely upend your professional and personal life, say former informants and the lawyers who represent them, so it's best to consider the possible consequences.
This year, two general counsels turned whistleblowers saw their claims validated, but only after years of investigations, discovery, depositions, motion hearings and, in one case, a three-week jury trial.
In February, former Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. general counsel Sanford “Sandy” Wadler was awarded $11 million in damages by a San Francisco jury. In late March, at least partly because of cooperation by former ZTE USA general counsel Ashley Yablon, ZTE's parent company—ZTE Corp.— pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by illegally shipping surveillance equipment to Iran.
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Burr & Forman partner Garry K. Grooms has entered an appearance for 4M Acquisitions and Wallace D. Tweden in a pending environmental lawsuit. The action, filed July 22 in Tennessee Middle District Court by the McKellar Law Group and Mark E. Martin LLC on behalf of Tennessee Riverkeeper, contends that the defendant's violated the Clean Water Act and Tennessee Water Quality Control Act by allowing for the discharge of pollutants into waters of the U.S. without obtaining a National Pollutant Discharge permit. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger, is 3:24-cv-00886, Tennessee Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Tweden et al.
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Walmart has tapped lawyer Nicole M. Wright of Zausmer PC to defend a pending product liability lawsuit. The action was filed Aug. 12 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Wolfe Trial Lawyers on behalf of a plaintiff claiming burns from a defective propane tank. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Leitman, is 2:24-cv-12100, Hill v. Ferrellgas, Inc. et al.
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