Michael D. Kohn
Founding Partner
Michael is nationally recognized as a leading whistleblower attorney, setting numerous legal precedents.
Contact Stephen
michael.kohn@kkc.com
Michael D. Kohn is nationally recognized as a leading whistleblower attorney. A founding partner of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, the first law firm exclusively dedicated to representing whistleblowers, Michael has over 30 years of experience advocating for whistleblowers before courts and federal agencies.
Michael specializes in False Claims Act qui tam cases as well as whistleblower award cases before the SEC, CFTC and IRS. In addition to obtaining multi-million dollar awards for his clients, Kohn has argued multiple precedent-setting cases, furthering protections for whistleblowers across the nation.
In a qui tam whistleblower case against government contractor KBR, Michael unearthed how KBR systematically silenced employees with knowledge of kickbacks from going to the federal government as a result of forcing them to execute restrictive NDAs. Having unearthed these facts, Michael obtained an SEC ruling finding the use of such NDAs unlawful and convinced the SEC to fine KBR. This precedent-setting SEC ruling explicitly relied on the case law Michael put in place decades earlier in the case of whistleblower Joe Macktal.
Other Major Achievements
In another qui tam case, Michael held the surety industry accountable under the False Claims Act. Michael represented whistleblower Andrew Scollick who blew the whistle on a multi-million dollar scheme to illegally obtain Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) set-aside contracts. The case established for the first time that construction bonding companies could be held liable for defrauding the government if they had reason to know the entity they were bonding was not actually majority-owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran.
Michael also represented False Claims Act whistleblower James Connolly and successfully used the California False Claims Act to hold the multinational bank and financial services company HSBC accountable for overcharging the California Public Employees Retirement System in foreign currency trading. The case settled for a $7 million payment to California and Michael secured a $1.12 million for Connolly.
[Read More]Bloomberg: Capitol Gains
Learn about whistleblowing and the cases Michael and the firm have fought and won in recent years.
Notable Cases
Exposed a $7 Billion No-Bid Contract
Bunnatine “Bunny” Greenhouse objected and exposed an illegal $7 billion no-bid Defense Department contract between Halliburton and the Army Corps of Engineers for the reconstruction of Iraq after the 2003 invasion.
$30 Million Award
We can only report that he or she obtained an award within the top-five ever given by the SEC, an award of over $30 million.
$13.5 Million Award
Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto represented an anonymous whistleblower, who on May 17, 2021, received a whistleblower award of $13.5 million.
“I couldn’t have navigated the shark invested waters whistleblower face without the passion, dedication, determination, and brilliance of my incredible attorneys”
“…the three co-founders of the National Whistleblower Center, these are important names, Stephen Kohn, Michael, Kohn and David Colapinto, thank you so much for all that you do, they broke the mold with these visionaries and we are all better for it.” (National Whistleblower Day, 2018)
“I just finished reading the brief that Mike and Steve Kohn developed on my appeal to the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. It is, unquestionably, the most professionally developed legal document I have reviewed in thirty-years . . . Each has my eternal thanks and appreciation. They have helped to restore my faith in the legal profession.”
“It is with much joy and great pleasure to most sincerely congratulate you for your great victory in defending the case of our blood bother Dennis Brutus, one of the most distinguished sons of our beloved country South Africa. We have no doubt the entire progressive world joins us in our unqualified gratitude to your great wonderful achievement in succeeding to rescue Brutus from the subsequent agonizing predicament in which he would find himself if the case was lost.”
“I want to try to express my feelings of gratitude for what you are doing for me, but I’m not sure that words will do the job . . . The bureaucrats almost won; not because they were legally right, but rather, because they have the power and influence to be able to crush any resistance . . . You are rendering a great service, not only to individuals like myself, but to our country a well.”
“I want to try to express my feelings of gratitude for what you are doing for me, but I’m not sure that words will do the job . . . The bureaucrats almost won; not because they were legally right, but rather, because they have the power and influence to be able to crush any resistance . . . You are rendering a great service, not only to individuals like myself, but to our country a well.”
“Mike Kohn’s passion for fighting for his clients is simply remarkable.”
40 Years of Accomplishment
Kohn is one of the most actively involved whistleblower attorneys in the world, focusing on issues of serious public importance.
Media Appearances
BBC, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, C-SPAN, MSNBC, FOX, RT, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Constitution, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time Magazine, National Law Journal, and Vanity Fair.
Michael’s Latest Book
Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees
Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees provides a clear, comprehensive and easy-to-understand explanation of the employee-protection requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”
– Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
