Dallas-Fort Worth Attorney Handles Internal Investigations and Whistleblower Law

Guiding well-intentioned whistleblowers through the legal minefield of corporate internal investigations

For more than 35 years, Steve Kardell has protected corporate executives from misdirected internal investigations, while simultaneously pursuing damages through whistleblower laws. Attorney Kardell’s approach has secured major settlements for clients who were unnecessarily made the targets of difficult and draining internal investigations.

What is whistleblower law?

Whistleblower law provides protection against employer retaliation. The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Dodd-Frank and False Claims Acts are several of the most important and influential federal whistleblower statutes in the United States. Typically whistleblower legislation is supposed to protect employees who report systematic fraud or wrongdoing from:

Unfortunately, all too often, corporations turn the spotlight of the internal investigation on the whistleblower, rather than on the alleged act itself.

Why do you need a whistleblower lawyer who is also well-versed in internal investigations?

A whistleblower complaint is nearly always accompanied by the launch of a corporate internal investigation. Corporate internal investigations present a legal minefield of potential problems for whistleblowers. This is one area of law in which it is crucial for an individual to seek counsel early. Not only can counsel hold a whistleblower’s hand throughout the investigative process, but your legal team can also provide guidance and warnings regarding things that you should or should not do. An experienced attorney can provide you with a playbook of how to protect yourself and your livelihood throughout the internal investigation process. Drawing on over 35 years of experience, attorney Steve Kardell provides:

• Strategic advice: Many attorneys who advertise whistleblower services do not have a strong background in internal investigations or corporate Miranda rights. This can put them at a significant disadvantage in protecting their client by failing to influence the internal investigation and its focus adequately.
• A calming influence: If the spotlight of an internal investigation has been turned on you, you know that the way of life you have become accustomed to is in jeopardy. You may directly contact attorney Kardell — day, night or weekends — for clear answers. This direct access to him should facilitate your working relationship and calm your mind, so you can work together more effectively.
• Confidence you can trust: For more than 35 years, Mr. Kardell has counseled and advocated for high-level corporate executives mired in Kafka-esque whistleblower and internal investigation issues. He typically pursues a dual-pronged approach and defends you from misdirected internal investigations, while simultaneously making use of whistleblower laws to go on the offensive.

To speak with an employment lawyer regarding a potential whistleblower situation, please contact Steve Kardell at Kardell Law Group.  Despite the perceived difficulty of prevailing on Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower complaints, Kardell has been consistently successful in representing corporate executives before various federal tribunals with jurisdiction over these complaints. Kardell recently settled two unrelated Sarbanes-Oxley cases involving allegations of retaliation against corporate executives, recovering in excess of $750,000 (net to each client) in proceedings before the U.S. Department of Labor.

1.  Gerald Sinzdak, An Analysis of Current Whistleblower Laws: Defending a More Flexible Approach to Reporting Requirements, 96 Cal. L. Rev. 1633, 1655 (2008).
2.  See Geoffrey Christopher Rapp, Beyond Protection: Invigorating Incentives for Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate and Securities Fraud Whistleblowers, 87 B.U. L. Rev. 91, 95-96 (2007).
3.  Relevante, Will Corporate Employees Blow the Whistle on Serious Fraud?, (2005), (An anonymous informant will find proving the causal relationship between the act of whistleblowing and the retaliatory conduct “almost impossible.”).
4.  Jodi L. Short, Killing the Messenger: The Use of Nondisclosure Agreements to Silence Whistleblowers, 60 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 1207, 1210-11 (1999).
5.  Kevin McCoy, Pursuer of Madoff blew a whistle for nine years, USA Today, Feb. 12, 2009
6. Terry Morehead Dworkin, Sox and Whistleblowing, 105 Mich. L. Rev. 1757, 1766 (2007) (reporting the results of a study showing that, of 677 Sarbanes-Oxley retaliation complaints, 499 were dismissed and 95 were withdrawn, and that, of those complaints that proceeded before an administrative law judge, only two percent resulted in a decision for the employee).

Let our Dallas-Fort Worth experienced authority and published author on whistleblower law advise you.

Individually a whistleblower lawsuit and internal investigation are emotionally and intellectually draining. Combined — and if you don’t have any legal support — they can be nearly impossible to manage. Contact Steve today via phone at 214-306-8045 or online to schedule a meeting at Steve Kardell’s office.