Review Process

How the process works:

• The whistleblower fills out a confidential, secure intake form and the intake process begins. A whistleblower attorney reviews each submission.
• Based upon this review, an immediate decision is made as to whether the National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund (“Fund”) has an attorney on its referral list who may be interested in your case.
• If the Fund does not have an attorney who may be interested in your case, the Fund will send you a declination letter. This letter will contain information about other programs that may have an attorney interested in your case.
• Obtaining a declination letter is not based on the merits of your case. It simply means, we do not have an attorney in our network available to take your case.
• If the Fund has an attorney who may be interested in your case, your intake will be forwarded to them. They are asked to contact you directly and decide if they will take your case within 30 days. All these communications are covered under the attorney-client privilege.
• If a representative from the Fund, the National Whistleblower Center (or one of their cooperating attorneys) contacts you, please understand that neither the Fund, the NWC, nor the cooperating attorney represents you. You do not have an attorney helping you on your case until you enter into a signed, written representation agreement with an attorney.
• Once the Fund makes a referral of your case to an attorney, the role of the Fund is terminated. Any decision concerning your future representation, is between you and an attorney of your choosing, including the attorney to which your case was referred. The role of the Fund, was simply to refer your intake to an attorney who may be interested in your case.
• Many laws protecting or rewarding whistleblowers have a short statute of limitations or require a claim to be filed quickly. Consequently, you should not rely on the Fund to locate an attorney for you. You should continue to search for an attorney. You should also educate yourself, on how to protect your rights as best you can, including obtaining a copy of Rules for Whistleblowers. The Fund also recommends a variety of resources to assist you in this process.
• This Attorney Referral Program (“ARP”) is offered as a free service. You will not be charged, and you will not be asked to pay any referral fees. An attorney we refer to you cannot charge you for the referral services. However, to support the work of the National Whistleblower Center and to cover the costs of the referral program, the attorney will donate to the National Whistleblower Center from fees they obtain when your case is resolved or settled.  You may also decide to make a donation to the NWC, but you are not required to make any such donation.
• No attorney participating in this program who is billing a client solely based on a contingency fee should ever charge a whistleblower a contingency fee above 40%.
• Your decision to hire an attorney is yours, and yours alone.  The Fund does not participate in any discussions you may have with an attorney we refer you to.  The Fund does not make any recommendations concerning what attorney you should hire.  A referral to an attorney is not a recommendation that you should hire that attorney.
• All agreements between you and any attorney referred to you under this program are strictly between you and the attorney.  You are free to decline representation from any attorney we refer to you.
• To ensure the independence of the ARP neither the Fund nor the Center self-refer intakes to attorneys who work for these organizations, or who are trustees, directors, or contractors for these two organizations.  If you want to contact any of these persons please send an email to them directly.