In-House Attorneys Can Bring Whistleblower Cases

In house legal attorneys working for companies can become whistleblowers in situations of company wrongdoing and fraud. This was the case when two in-house attorneys claimed they were fired for for revealing the wrongdoing of the companies they worked for. The 9th Circuit appellate court held that under the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the attorneys did not have to prove actual fraud to bring a case. The married attorneys were in house lawyers for International Game Technology and were fired when the company merged with a slot machine company. They asked questions about the validity of a patent held by the new company.