Ride the Whistleblower Wave
Earlier this year, Sanford Wadler won $14.5 million, including attorney fees, from his California company, which fired him for reporting alleged foreign bribes to the board of directors. The former general counsel's court victory highlights, and perhaps has helped inspire, two recent trends in the world of whistleblowing—a growing number of in-house counsel and compliance officers becoming whistleblowers, and an increasing number of retaliation suits.
August 07, 2017 at 04:00 PM
9 minute read
Earlier this year, Sanford Wadler won $14.5 million, including attorney fees, from his California company, which fired him for reporting alleged foreign bribes to the board of directors. The former general counsel's court victory highlights, and perhaps has helped inspire, two recent trends in the world of whistleblowing—a growing number of in-house counsel and compliance officers becoming whistleblowers, and an increasing number of retaliation suits.
Wadler filed suit against Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. and its board members after his employment was terminated in June 2013. He asserted retaliation claims under federal law, including the Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts, along with wrongful termination under state law.
Plaintiffs' attorney Jason Zuckerman, a partner at Zuckerman Law in Washington, D.C., predicts there will be “some increase” in the number of in-house counsel bringing retaliation claims against their companies after the Wadler victory.
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