Stephen Kohn
Kohn, Kohn & ColapintoStephen M. Kohn, along with his partners are America's leading whistleblower attorneys. He successfully represented the most important tax whistleblower in U.S. history (Bradley Birkenfeld) and won the largest whistleblower reward ever paid to an individual whistleblower ($104 million). Since 1984 his practice has focused exclusively on advocating for whistleblowers, expanding laws that protect and reward whistleblowers and litigating many cutting-edge cases. He has successfully represented whistleblowers under numerous state and federal laws, including the False Claims Act/qui tam laws, and established important precedent protecting whistleblowers under the First Amendment. Since 2009 his practice has expanded to helping international whistleblowers file claims in the United States for securities fraud, tax fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Mr. Kohn has served as lead counsel and prevailed in major precedent setting whistleblower cases both at trial and in appeals court rulings. Mr. Kohn worked with Congressional staff in proposing language incorporated into major whistleblower laws, such as the Dodd-Frank Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act. Many of his proposals were adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission during their historic whistleblower-rulemaking proceedings. Additionally, Mr. Kohn volunteers as the pro bono Executive Director of the National Whistleblower, where he has filed numerous amicus briefs on behalf of whistleblowers in key Supreme Court cases. Mr. Kohn wrote the first legal treatise on whistleblower law in 1985. His seventh book on whistleblowing, The Whistleblower’s Handbook was praised by the Wall Street Journal as essential reading for whistleblowers. In 2014 Mr. Kohn and his firm were recognized by the National Law Journal as among the top 50 plaintiffs law firms in the United States.
- Northeastern University School of Law
- J.D. (1984)
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- Brown University
- M.A. (1981) | Political Science
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- Boston University
- B.S. (1979) | Social Education
- Honors: Magna Cum Laude
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- Partner
- Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto
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- Partner in America's leading whistleblower rights law firm.
- Director of Corporate Litigation
- Government Accountability Project
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- Lead Supervisory Attorney on cutting-edge corporate whistleblower cases.
- Supervisor of Whistleblower Advocacy Clinic
- Antioch School of Law
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- Supervised 10 to 15 law students on whistleblower legal cases.
- Judicial Intern, Hon. A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Circuit Judge
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
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- Wrote Bench-memos and draft opinions for Judge Higginbotham.
- Elite Trial Lawyers Recognition
- National Law Journal
- Super Lawyers Recognition
- Super Lawyers
- Top 800 lawyers
- Washingtonian Magazine
- Daynard Public Interest Fellowship
- Northeastern University School of Law
- Plaintiff's Hot List
- National Law Journal
- District of Columbia Bar
- Member
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- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Member
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- American Association for Justice
- Member
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- Taxpayers Against Fraud
- Member
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- National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund
- Trustee
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- Northeastern University School of Law
- Guest Lecturer
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- Activities: Taught specialized course on whistleblower law.
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- National Whistleblower Center
- Executive Director (Pro Bono)
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- Activities: Served Pro Bono as the lead attorney and public advocate for this nonprofit organization since its founding.
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- District of Columbia
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
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- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
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- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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- Various U.S. District Courts
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- Free Consultation
- Contingent Fees
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Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
For information about the fee policies at Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, see our Standard Billing Rates page, http://www.kkc.com/our-firm/standard-billing-rates/
- Employment Law
- Employee Benefits, Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, ERISA, Overtime & Unpaid Wages, Sexual Harassment, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination
- Tax Law
- Business Taxes, Criminal Tax Litigation, Estate Tax Planning, Income Taxes, International Taxes, Payroll Taxes, Property Taxes, Sales Taxes, Tax Appeals, Tax Audits, Tax Planning
- Securities Law
- International Law
- Human Rights, Imports & Exports
- Gov & Administrative Law
- Administrative Law, Election Law, Government Contracts, Government Finance, Legislative & Government Affairs
- Whistleblower Protections and Rewards under the False Claims Act
- Whistleblower Protections and Rewards under the Dodd-Frank Act
- Whistleblower Protections and Rewards under the Internal Revenue Code
- Whistleblower Protections and Rewards under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Banking: A Crack In the Swiss Vault
Swiss bank accounts offered people, including U.S. tax cheats, a safe place to hide money. But the largest Swiss bank has released formerly sacrosanct data on its U.S. customers because of tips provided by whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld, who tells Steve Kroft some of the secrets Swiss bankers never tell.
Whistleblower Retaliation at the FBI
John Roberts, Stephen Kohn, National Whistleblower Center
FBI Crime Lab Scandal Featured on Primetime
FBI Crime lab scandal primetime Stephen Kohn Frederic Whitehurst National Whistleblower Center
Whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld Gets Record $104M for Exposing How UBS Helped Rich Evade Taxes
DemocracyNow.org - The IRS has announced a record $104 million reward to a whistleblower who exposed the largest tax evasion scheme in U.S. history. Former UBS AG banker Brad Birkenfeld first reported in 2007 that he and his colleagues had encouraged rich Americans to store more than $20 billion in offshore Swiss bank accounts and cheat the IRS. But after coming forward, Birkenfeld was prosecuted and convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to prison. Following Birkenfeld's release last month, on Tuesday the IRS vindicated his actions with the largest amount ever awarded under its whistleblower program. We're joined by Stephen Kohn, an attorney for Birkenfeld and executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center.