Whistleblower firm takes aim at Silicon Valley's defense ambitions

As Silicon Valley's footprint in U.S. defense and infrastructure contracts expands--with companies like Meta, Palantir, and SpaceX vying for billion-dollar deals--a newly launched law firm of whistleblower veterans is moving to meet the moment.

Whistleblower Partners LLP, founded in March 2024 with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C., is betting that the convergence of cutting-edge tech and federal procurement will be the next frontier in corporate fraud enforcement.

With deep experience in False Claims Act litigation and a track record representing some of the world's most high-profile whistleblowers, the firm is staking out the intersection where disruptive innovation meets taxpayer accountability--and where oversight is often an afterthought.

"Now you've got these tech companies run by people like Musk and Zuckerberg," said founding partner Eric Havian. "They tend to be edgy companies that push the envelope, and it's just not a good idea to push the envelope in contracts with the federal government."

"There's an old expression... you best turn square corners, when you deal with the government," he added. "And that is the case in part due to the False Claims Act and whistleblowers who, if you don't turn those square corners, will come forward."

In fact, the day Havian and founding partner Ari Yampolsky gave an interview for this article, Meta Platforms announced it had partnered with defense contractor Anduril Industries to jointly bid on a U.S. Army contract for VR hardware, valued at up to $100 million. It would mark Meta's most significant deal with the Defense Department.

Backed by the Trump administration's push for the military to adopt commercial and startup technologies, the partnership adds to Anduril's growing list of high-profile collaborations with big technology companies including with OpenAI, Oracle, and Palantir Technologies. Anduril, which is based in Costa Mesa, is also competing for contracts to develop President Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense shield.

The founders of Whistleblower Partners are no stranger to headline-making cases. They each came from other firms where they specialized in whistleblower cases. The San Francisco partners came from Constantine Cannon LLP, where they represented Francis Haugen, the former Facebook product manager who exposed how the platform's algorithms contributed to public harm, and Tyler Shultz, the Theranos whistleblower who played a central role in revealing fraud at the now-defunct blood-testing startup.

These cases, the attorneys say, were just the beginning of a larger trend.

San Francisco is "the third largest financial center... that's important for us in our SEC and CFTC whistleblower work," Yampolsky said.

Whistleblower Partners' practice is specialized but far-reaching. Its lawyers represent clients under the False Claims Act, as well as whistleblower reward programs at the SEC, IRS, and Department of Transportation. "It's a niche in a niche," Yampolsky said.

They acknowledged that building a law firm that is so specialized can have challenges but also benefits.

"We have a very wide--even though it's a narrow niche--we have a wide range of expertise that spans the entire niche," Havian said. "We've done cases... ranging from library book fraud to defense department fraud, to customs fraud, to auto safety fraud."

The firm works exclusively on a contingency basis, taking on high-risk matters where the payout often depends on years of patient litigation and investigation.

"All of our whistleblower clients are people who we are totally sharing skin in the game with, in terms of making an investment up front," Yampolsky said.

Despite the volatility, the firm secured a $79 million whistleblower award in September 2024--one of the largest IRS whistleblower rewards in history and a stroke of good timing for the nascent firm that they said couldn't have been predicted.

"We feel very fortunate," Yampolsky said. "That they would happen in 2024 and 2025 is not something that we could have... told you in 2023."

While Whistleblower Partners is rooted in U.S. law, the team is increasingly focused on global enforcement--both in representing foreign whistleblowers and in helping shape international reward programs modeled on the False Claims Act.

"We have established quite a footprint," Havian said. He added that much of that success has been due to the efforts of Mary Inman to "foster awareness around the world."

Founding partner Inman has carved out a specialty representing international whistleblowers, particularly in the U.K. and in Canada. "Mary is not a Brit, but in many ways she may as well be. Mary spent several years in the U.K. when at our prior firm and has diligently kept her focus there since," Yampolsky said.

The firm handled major international cases such as a South Korean bid-rigging scheme, a global oil bribery case, and a vehicle safety case involving Hyundai and Kia--all resulting in hundreds of millions in government recoveries.

Yampolsky noted that international fraud often involves U.S. funds or jurisdiction, creating an opening for whistleblowers from other countries under U.S. programs. He cited one client in Korea who exposed automotive safety defects and became the first person to receive a reward under the U.S. Department of Transportation's auto safety whistleblower program.

At the same time, Whistleblower Partners is helping build new whistleblower frameworks abroad.

"In the U.K., [His Majesty's Revenue and Customs] is moving to create a whistleblower reward program," Yampolsky said. "The Serious Fraud Office... is moving in that direction as well."

(HMRC is the UK government department responsible for tax collection, payment of some types of welfare, and enforcement of financial regulations. SFO is an independent agency that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud, bribery, and corruption.)

The attorneys at Whistleblower Partners have also worked in Canada. As they grow their footprint, the founders say they're just as focused on building a resilient culture that resists the fissures that have sunk other elite law firms.

"We have compensation structure that shares profits with everybody in the firm from the admin people all the way up to... senior partners," Havian said. "Everybody has a stake."

There are no non-equity partners, and collaboration is built into the DNA of the firm.

"Everybody really does get along really well in our firm," he added. "It's a structure that should have great power to endure."

With whistleblower activity increasing across sectors--and U.S. agencies launching new reward-based programs--Whistleblower Partners sees a long runway ahead.

"We see greater interest and opportunity," Yampolsky said. "At the same time, we're on the lookout for the reduction [in] enforcement."