You should look for an attorney with experience regarding whistleblower cases. Someone who not only has experience but is familiar with the courts and the defense attorneys in the area.
Our whistleblower experience
We have represented a variety of employees, everywhere from executive-level on down to frontline.
In retaliation cases, we’ve successfully settled every one that we’ve had. We have not had to take any of them to trial. And that is because our reputation as trial attorneys helps us get these cases settled without having to go to trial. In other words, the defendants or their attorneys know that we are prepared to take these cases to trial, and frequently do (with excellent results) which gets them to the bargaining table more quickly and gets them to put more money on the table a lot faster.
Is settling the case good for the client?
Yes, it saves the client expert witness fees and other expenses related to the litigation. It also wraps the case up more quickly.
Litigation is stressful. The longer something goes on, the more of a drain on your time it is. If you have to show up for trial, it’s a very stressful event, and it’s something that I would want to avoid if I were a litigant in a lawsuit. In cases like these, it is very intense.
Discovery in whistleblower lawsuits
“Discovery” is when the attorneys in a lawsuit try to gather information from and about the other side. Discovery from the employer’s attorneys can be invasive, tedious and time consuming. The defense lawyers will ask a lot of embarrassing questions about job performance that an employee doesn’t want to get into.
What typically happens is the company doesn’t come right out and say, “yes, absolutely we terminated that person because they reported this illegal activity.” There’s always some other excuse that the company comes up with as to why they demoted an employee, why they fired an employee, or why they subjected the employee to the particular employment action that they took. They never come out and admit that the reason was because they wanted to retaliate against them and teach them a lesson for being a whistleblower.
Learn more about Shea & McIntyre, P.C.