When “Gatekeepers” Become Whistleblowers: A Focus on Compliance Professionals In SEC Enforcement Actions (Volume 54, Number 2–January 27, 2021)
Author: Ronald C. Machen.; Cadene Russell Brooks.
Source: Volume 52, Number 02, January 15 2021 , pp.13-22(10)
Abstract:
In administering its whistleblower program, the SEC has generally found that a compliance professional who becomes a whistleblower is ineligible for an award. There are, however, narrow exceptions and awards have been granted in such cases. In this article, the authors describe the SEC’s program rules and their application in the few cases in which awards have been made. They then turn to the anti-retaliation provisions that protect compliance insiders from reprisal for reporting misconduct. They conclude with key lessons learned for effective compliance programs in light of the SEC’s treatment of some gatekeepers as whistleblowers.Keywords: Dodd-Frank Act Section 21F; “Original Information” Requirement; Digital Realty Tr., Inc. v. Somers
Affiliations:
1: WilmerHale; 2: WilmerHale.