Now that nearly 50 countries have whistleblower protection laws in place, public demand for whistleblower support and legal representation has never been higher. Unfortunately, a vast majority of attorneys, public officials and even whistleblower advocates themselves lack the basic knowledge to make these laws work in practice. Depending on the country, 60-90 percent of victimized employees lose their retaliation cases. Rather than redemption and justice, most whistleblower laws typically deliver false hope.
A new program at the International Anti-Corruption Academy is part of an urgently needed solution. “Successful Strategies and Best Practices in Whistleblower Casework” is an essential course for a wide range of professionals in the proper and discreet handling of whistleblower cases. Practicing attorneys, anti-corruption officials, whistleblower support groups, labor unions and company compliance officers will benefit from the course. Registration is now open and spots are still available for the month-long course, which will run from Nov. 8 through Dec. 4.
The online course will be taught by internationally recognized experts in whistleblower law, defense and advocacy, including Stephen M. Kohn of the elite whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto; Siri Nelson of the National Whistleblower Center; and Mark Worth of Whistleblowing International and the European Center for Whistleblower Rights. The course also will feature guest speakers from the fields of anti-corruption, fraud investigations, conflict resolution, mediation and investigative journalism.
Participants will gain practical, expert-level knowledge to manage whistleblower cases in a range of settings. The main topics include:
- how to make whistleblowing work for the public interest
- whistleblower protection law and policy around the world
- whistleblower representation and retaliation defense
- whistleblowers and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
- corruption investigations and enforcement
- conflict resolution and mediation
- media and public communications
- personal support, advice and assistance
Lectures, readings and practical coursework will cover the unique combination of skills required to competently receive, assess, investigate and resolve whistleblower cases and retaliation complaints:
- employment and criminal law
- financial and political corruption investigations
- investigative journalism
- public communications
- negotiation/conflict resolution
- mediation/arbitration
- social work
The course is being held in advance of the Dec. 17 deadline for all EU countries to pass new whistleblower protection laws to comply with a 2019 Directive. The course also will detail how many US whistleblower laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, have an international reach and can be applied to cases regardless of where misconduct occurs and where whistleblowers live.
Course details and registration details are available here.