In This Issue:

- Whistleblower protections and in-House Counsel

- Sarbanes-oxley

- The Dodd-Frank Act

- The False Claims Act

- Common Law Wrongful Discharge Claims

- The Ethical obligations of Attorney-Whistleblowers

- Rules protecting Client Confidences

- Duties to Former Clients

- Impact of Attorney Ethical obligations

- Eligibility for Whistleblower incentives

- In-House Counsel as False Claims Act Qui Tam Relators

- In-House Counsel and Dodd-Frank Monetary Awards

- Responding to a Claim: Protecting Confidential information

- Agency proceedings

- Court proceedings

- Responding to a Claim: Pursuing a Remedy for

- In-House Attorney’s Violation of Ethical obligations to the Company

- Injunctive Relief

- Dismissal as a Sanction

- Reporting the Ethical Violation to the Appropriate Disciplinary Authority

- Responding to a Claim: Employer Defenses

- Protected Activity

- Adverse Action

- After-Acquired Evidence

- Responding to the Claim: Managing the Attorney-Whistleblower in the Workplace

- Initial Response

- The Whistleblower’s Lawyer

- Preventing Retaliation

- The Cultural Impact

- Severing the Relationship—Settlement and Release of Claims

- Policies and procedures to Help prevent Whistleblower Claims by Legal and Compliance professionals:

- Adopt Bounty Exclusion Language in Job Descriptions and Employment Contracts

- Work on the Culture of the Legal Department

- Implement Effective Training

- Programs that Address professional Ethics Require Tailored Confidentiality Agreements

- Ensure Communications with the Legal Department Are Marked “Attorney-Client Communication privileged”

- Restrict Access to Electronic Documents

- Adopt Failsafe Reporting Requirements for Attorneys

- Investigate Reports of Misconduct promptly

- Revaluate Hiring procedures

- Conclusion

- Excerpt from Whistleblower protections and In-House Counsel:

Historically, some state courts have expressed skepticism about whether an in-house attorney can sue his or her employer (and client) on the basis of allegations that the employer terminated or otherwise retaliated against the attorney for engaging in statutorily protected activity. Increasingly, however, state and federal courts and federal agencies have allowed such claims and even permitted the disclosure of privileged and confidential information in the course of litigating them. The section below provides an overview of the permissibility of whistleblower claims by in-house attorneys and canvasses the types of information they may use to litigate their claims under various federal whistleblower statutes and in state common law wrongful termination actions.