If you have “blown the whistle” on an employer in Virginia or in one of its surrounding states or if you are thinking about doing so, it may be in your best interest to discuss your situation with a whistleblower law firm Virginia public and private sector employees can rely on.
What’s a Whistleblower and Why Are They Important?
A whistleblower (or whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person who exposes information about an organization’s illegal, unethical, or inappropriate activities and/or practices. Whistleblowers can expose both private sector and government employers as well as private and public, organization-wide corruption.
Whistleblowers are important in the United States because they help to keep Americans safe, and they help to prevent fraud and corruption. When a whistleblower speaks up about improper and inappropriate practices of the government and government agencies or, they have the potential to save taxpayer money. When a whistleblower calls out a private sector employer they may be helping the public in other ways. By doing the right thing, a whistleblower may help to protect the American public from improper and inappropriate practices in food industries, health care, government and defense contracting, and consumer products.
Qui Tam
Qui tam is an abbreviation of a Latin phrase that means, “he who sues in this matter for the king as well as for himself.” This means that when an individual files a qui tam claim in a civil court, the person bringing the suit (the plaintiff) may be entitled to a percentage of the recovery of the penalty as a reward for exposing the wrongdoing, and helping to recover funds for the government. A federal or state government may intervene in these types of cases by becoming a party to the suit in the hopes of ensuring the plaintiff’s success; and to be a part of negotiations and involved in the conduct of the case.
Whistleblower Law Firms
Many people who have become whistleblowers in Virginia and its surrounding communities have been thankful to have a good whistleblower law firm Virginia whistleblowers and their families can trust. Trying to do this without the protection of a law firm that has experience in successfully defending whistleblowers from the powerful entities they are trying to hold accountable for illegal and/or unethical actions, can have grave consequences for the upstanding whistleblower and his or her family.
Some of the unfair and unfortunate consequences of whistleblowing without the guidance of a law firm that understands how to utilize such laws as the ones laid out in the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 and the False Claims Act (also known as the Lincoln Law) in order to protect their whistleblowing client, are negative impacts on the whistleblower’s professional and civic reputations, as well as to their financial well-being.
A good whistleblower law firm will try to protect a whistleblower’s reputation along with trying to help them gain monetary compensation for their noble efforts.
If you are looking for a reputable law firm that has lawyers who are licensed to practice in Virginia and the surrounding states, Cohen & Cohen has been defending the rights of upstanding citizens for over 30 years. Our experienced and compassionate legal team and staff work tirelessly to fiercely protect the rights of our clients and their reputations so that their clients do not have to.
For a whistleblower law firm Virginia employees and upstanding citizens have gotten protection from in the past, contact Cohen & Cohen for a free and confidential case evaluation.
