Mike Delikat Discusses How the SEC Has Challenged the Use of Confidentiality Agreements by Companies Under the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Provisions

​Mike Delikat, Chair of Orrick’s Employment Law Practice and leader of the firm’s Whistleblowing Task Force, recently spoke with Fortune regarding the SEC’s recent enforcement efforts aimed at preventing the use of confidentiality clauses and related agreements that could potentially discourage individuals from reporting corporate wrongdoing to the SEC.

Delikat said that his group is actively reviewing a broad range of employee-related agreements and policies for clients that could be viewed as discouraging external disclosure, typically for proprietary reasons, and helping clients draft appropriate carve-outs that make clear that these agreements do not apply to reporting illegal activity to the SEC.