Whistleblower Lawyers Look to Long Term as SEC Rejects Cases

Chicago-based law firm DiCello Levitt is doubling down on financial whistleblower work by acquiring the practice of one of the most prominent attorneys in the field, even as the Securities and Exchange Commission appears reluctant to pay out awards.

DiCello Levitt is merging with the Washington-based SEC Whistleblower Advocates PLLC, the firms announced today. Jordan Thomas, who founded SEC Whistleblower Advocates in 2022, worked at the agency and helped write the rules for its whistleblower reward program before leaving to represent whistleblowers himself.

Thomas said his decision to join DiCello Levitt was about building “the next generation of SEC whistleblower attorneys,” and ensuring his practice doesn’t stop when he stops practicing. “It feels like it’s the right firm to ensure that, 10 years from now, my firm doesn’t die, my practice doesn’t die, but that it will continue to grow,” he said in an interview.

Combining with a larger firm will allow Thomas to guide his clients through the many newer whistleblower programs outside of the SEC, he said. The Internal Revenue Service, Justice Department, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also have whistleblower programs, as do regulators in certain states.

Thomas enjoyed rapid success after leaving the government in 2011. His clients received $152 million of the first $600 million the SEC program awarded after it was created by the 2010 to encourage tips on financial wrongdoing, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Buying Low

Whistleblower cases have become more difficult over the past year as the SEC, led by Chairman Paul Atkins, is now more frequently denying awards in whistleblower claims. A Bloomberg Law analysis found that the agency denied awards in 31 consecutive cases between April and July of last year—the longest drought since the whistleblower program’s inception.

The SEC was on pace to award roughly $40 million in 2025, compared to an average of more than $130 million per year between 2012 and 2022.

Attorneys for whistleblowers often get paid through a share of the rewards their clients receive. Adam Levitt, a founding partner at DiCello Levitt, said he’s not worried about the slow down.

“You buy into the market when the market’s low,” he said in an interview. “We don’t know how the Trump SEC is going to ultimately play out with these things, but we do take the long view. The current administration will not be the current administration forever.”

The firm focuses on taking on clients with strong cases that have a high likelihood of success—regardless of which party is in control in Washington.

“This administration will not be assessing the tips that I’m bringing today,” he said. “God help whistleblowers if they’re represented by people who have that short-term worldview.”