Law360
April.25.2012
This article, about how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inadvertently revealed the identity of a corporate whistleblower, quotes Washington, D.C., securities litigation and regulatory enforcement partner James Meyers.
"It creates the potential for some whistleblowers to think twice about reporting to the SEC first," Meyers said. "If companies let their employees know that they have procedures to protect their confidentiality in place, employees may be more inclined to report their allegations to the company first."
To combat that, the SEC will have to respond promptly to the WSJ report and emphasize that its gaffe was a one-time occurrence and that it's taking steps to ensure it won't happen again, Meyers said.