Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

The curriculum for our upcoming seminar titled “Integrating the False Claims Act into Your Law Practice” has been updated to include a presentation on the on the numerous whistleblower provisions contained in the new Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

It is approved for CLE credit in Pennsylvania and Ohio for attorneys who choose to attend the seminar in our offices in Washington, D.C. Attorneys also have the option to attend via teleconference, but not for CLE credit.

Date: Friday, July 23, 2010
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST

To register for this seminar, click here. For more information, click here or call 202-342-1903. 

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Public interest groups have scheduled a town hall meeting to discuss legislation designed to protect miners and other workers from injury and disease. It is scheduled for next Tuesday, July 27, 2010, at Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, 4444 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. A flyer is available here. Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, is scheduled to speak. The purpose of the town hall meeting is to build support for H.R. 5663, the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act. This legislation would expand and improve workplace safety laws by strengthening both the Mine Safety and Health Act (MSHA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). We posted a previous notice about this bill here.

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Yesterday concluded the 2010 National Whistleblower Assembly. Staff from the National Whistleblowers Center participated in a number of panels on major issues facing the whistleblower community. Richard Renner provided practice tips as part of the know your rights panel, Stephen M. Kohn discussed first amendment protections for doctors at the medical whistleblower workshop and David K. Colapinto presented current rights for FBI employees at the protecting FBI whistleblowers workshop.

Also at the assembly, the Make it Safe Coalition honored UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld with it’s “Tax Whistleblower of the Year Award”. As those who follow our blog know, Mr. Birkenfeld blew the whistle on the largest tax fraud scheme in history, and remains the only banker involved in the scheme to receive a prison sentence. Mr. Birkenfeld’s brother, Douglas Birkenfeld, attended the assembly and accepted the award on his behalf, as Mr. Birkenfeld is currently incarcerated in federal prison. The award presentation is below:

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The False Claims Act is the most powerful federal whistleblower law. Unfortunately, attorneys and their clients often miss the opportunity to file a claim, because they lack knowledge of the law's unique requirements and procedures. This seminar will provide an introduction to the law to help an attorney determine both how and whether to file a claim. This seminar will take place on Friday, June 11, 2010 from 12:00 pm - 3:00pm EST. Attorneys can participate in-person at the National Whistleblowers Center office, located in Washington, D.C., or via teleconference.  

To view the seminar faculty and bios, click here. For seminar agenda, click here.   

Register now online, or mail a check payable to the National Whistleblowers Center to 3238 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20007. 

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On May 11, 2009, Professionals for the Public Interest will hold a program on Whistleblowers and OSHA: Strengthening Professional Integrity Against External Pressures. Dr. David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health will participate to discuss the Department of Labor's whistleblower program. The Tuesday lunch-time event will be in Washington, DC.  The event is free and open to all who register in advance.

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C-SPAN aired today's National Whistleblowers Center (NWC) seminar on Whistleblowers, Lawyers and the Media.  It is available on C-SPAN online. The seminar features insights about some of the most famous whistleblower cases in the media, and general comments about what whistleblowers should know before talking with the media.  The panelists include Rich Bonin (a producer for 60 Minutes), Jim Popkin (formerly of NBC Nightly News and now with Seven Oaks Media Group), John Solomon (formerly of the Washington Post, the Washington Time, the AP, and now with the Center for Public Integrity) and Stephen M. Kohn (Executive Director of NWC).  The seminar covered key strategies and laws for spotlighting whistleblowers in the media. Here is a photo of Rich Bonin and Stephen Kohn and the seminar:

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JOIN OUR LAWYERS & THE MEDIA
TRAINING SEMINAR
Thursday, April 1, 2010 12:00 - 2:00 pm EST

Sponsored by the National Whistleblowers Legal Defense & Education Fund

Lawyers & the Media: Strategies that Work and Pitfalls to Avoid in Whistleblower Cases
Whistleblowers who come forward to expose wrongdoing are critical sources for journalists. All attorneys who represent whistleblowers and journalists who use them as sources must understand the laws in place to protect whistleblowers when their story reaches the public. Attorneys also need to know how to effectively present their client's cases to journalists. This seminar will cover the 1st amendment protections that attorneys need to know to protect their clients, and journalists need to protect whistleblower sources

This training will take place on April 1, 2010 at the National Whistleblowers Center and via telephone conference

For a full description of the seminar and faculty information click here. To register for this seminar, click here.

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The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), is presenting "Effective Appellate Advocacy In Employment Cases." Using a mock case, the seminar will feature workshops on brief writing and oral argument. This program will be held on March 12 - 13, 2010, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Dallas Downtown, in Dallas, Texas. Use this link to register now.

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I had the pleasure this evening of speaking to Prof. Jane Uebelhoer's business ethics class at Marymount University in Ballston, Virginia, this evening.  The class was inquisitive, and we had a wide ranging discussion about the history of whistleblower protections, current controversies and the need for new legislation.  They were surprised to learn that our nation's patchwork of whistleblower laws still has gaping holes where there is no protection for whistleblowers, such as in health care.  I was pleased to learn that the class had such a ready consensus that every American should have access to a jury trial if they are fired for reporting any type of illegality.  Hopefully, they will soon all join the National Whistleblowers Center's Action Alert network. I thank Prof. Uebelhoer and student leader Samuel Papkin for inviting me to this promising class. Here is my photo of Marymount University's Ethical Issues in Business and Society class of 2010:

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I am pleased to announce here that I will be delivering the keynote address of the commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.  The event will begin at 7:00 p.m., this Monday, January 18, 2010, at the First Baptist Church, 140 Regent St., Dover, Ohio.  The local Time Reporter newspaper has a lead story about the event in today's edition.  The event will be an opportunity for me to speak about my work here at the National Whistleblowers Center, and how we draw on the message and mission of Dr. King. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., serves as a prophet for the present day. His message and life work ended apartheid in America. Yet, his call for an end to povery, discrimination and war are still unfulfilled. The national holiday in his honor is an opportunity for us to think about how every person has the capacity to change within, and to change the world.

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