San Francisco, California Whistleblower Law Firm
Phillips & Cohen’s San Francisco, California whistleblower attorneys’ office offers consultation and representation to US and international whistleblowers in cases under the US False Claims Act, which protects and rewards whistleblowers, as well as the California False Claims Act and similar state whistleblower laws.
We also represent whistleblowers in cases brought under the California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act. The California law encourages whistleblowers to help fight fraud against private insurers by offering financial rewards for their assistance.
In addition, we represent whistleblowers in claims filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Phillips & Cohen’s has the longest-standing practice dedicated to representing only whistleblowers. We have the most successful whistleblower practice, with more than $12.3 billion recovered as a result of our clients’ cases.
Our record-breaking settlements and rewards for whistleblowers
Our whistleblower cases have set records, while also protecting patients, US troops, investors and others.
We represented the leading whistleblowers in separate qui tam cases against GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, which settled for $3 billion and $2.3 billion respectively. Those are the largest and second largest healthcare fraud cases settlements ever.
Our whistleblower case against Northrop Grumman, based in Los Angeles, resulted in the largest amount ever paid by a defense contractor to settle a qui tam case ($325 million).
Under the SEC whistleblower program, we won for a client an award of more than $32 million, which is one of the largest whistleblower awards the SEC has made.
Our California whistleblower cases
Our qui tam case against Northrop Grumman is just one of many we have brought that involve California whistleblowers, companies based in California or local and state agencies in California that have been defrauded.
Through a qui tam lawsuit filed by Phillips & Cohen, a California business owner, who is also a biochemist, exposed alleged problems with a medical test kit manufactured and sold by a subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics. Quest paid $302 million to the government to settle the case and shut down the subsidiary.
Our whistleblower case against Office Depot, which alleged the company overcharged government entities for office supplies, recovered $68.5 million for cities, counties, school districts and other government entities in California, including Los Angeles and Santa Clara County.
Ensign Group settled for $48 million charges made by a whistleblower client and the government that involved Medicare billing and unnecessary treatment and unnecessary admission of patients at skilled nursing facilities Ensign operated in California.
See the list of our top whistleblower cases for more examples.
California Whistleblower Attorneys
Our clients benefit from our attorneys’ significant expertise in whistleblower cases and our willingness to fight for them.
The lawyers at our firm include many who have decades of experience representing whistleblowers and who have won record-setting cases, former federal prosecutors, the former head of the SEC whistleblower office and a former deputy administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Consumer Attorneys of California named San Francisco partners Stephen S. Hasegawa and Edward H. Arens as Consumer Attorneys of the Year finalists for their work on the Office Depot whistleblower case. Mr. Hasegawa also was named to Lawdragon’s list of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” for 2019.
Another San Francisco partner, Claire S. Sylvia, was recognized as a “Litigation Star” in California by Benchmark Litigation.
If you are aware of fraud against the government or possible violations of securities or commodities law, contact us via email for a free, confidential review of your case to learn about your options and the potential risks and rewards for being a whistleblower.
Phillips & Cohen’s San Francisco office (by appointment only):
100 The Embarcadero #300
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: (415) 836-9000
Phillips & Cohen also has offices in Washington, DC; London; New York; and Miami.
More California whistleblower resources
- California Whistleblower Law
- Qui Tam Lawsuits – Whistleblower Guide & FAQs
- Do I have a whistleblower claim?
- California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act and Whistleblowers: How the law works
- Whistleblower attorney Claire Sylvia named a California “Litigation Star”
- BP’s $102 million settlement shows effectiveness of California False claims Act
- DOJ joins Phillips & Cohen whistleblower case alleging Los Angeles-based AECOM led FEMA fraud scheme for Katrina funds