SEC attorney leaves to launch whistleblower practice

Jordan Thomas has left the US Securities and Exchange Commission to join Labaton Sucharow and launch its Whistleblower Representation Practice, which focuses exclusively on representing individuals who report federal securities violations.

As an assistant director and assistant chief litigation counsel in the SEC’s enforcement division, over the last eight years, Thomas investigated, litigated and supervised a variety of enforcement matters, which resulted in monetary recoveries in excess of $35 billion.

Thomas played a leadership role in the development and implementation of the SEC’s Whistleblower Program, which was enacted by the Dodd Frank Act last July, according to a spokesperson for Labaton Sucharow.

The SEC on 25 May adopted rules under the Dodd-Frank Act that create a whistleblower programme that rewards individuals who provide the agency with tips that lead to successful enforcement actions.

The new programme could have an impact on private equity firms. Under the programme, prospective whistleblowers must provide the SEC with original information that leads to the successful enforcement in which the SEC obtains sanctions totaling more than $1 million.

“After working on the whistleblower and cooperation initiatives, I have come to believe that these new partnerships between government and private individuals will revolutionise the enforcement of the federal securities laws,” said Thomas in a statement.

Prior to joining the SEC, Thomas was a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice, where he specialised in complex financial services litigation involving the FDIC and Office of Thrift Supervision.  
Several former SEC attorneys have recently joined private practices.

Last month, Donald Babbitt and Kevin Duffy joined Kinetic Partners’ regulatory and compliance practice to help private equity clients prepare for registration with the SEC.

Babbitt and Duffy were senior attorneys at the SEC.