Jordan A. Thomas

Jordan Andolini Thomas (born Paul Thompson) is an American attorney, writer, speaker and media commentator. He leads the SEC Whistleblower Advocates team at DiCello Levitt LLP, where he represents whistleblowers reporting violations of the federal securities laws to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Thomas began his legal career in the public sector as a Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Navy (1995–1999). Thomas then became a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice (1999–2003), before being hired by the SEC where he rose to the position of Assistant Director after serving as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the SEC's Division of Enforcement (2003–2011).

Early life and education

Thomas was born in Los Angeles, California. His mother was a white former nun turned school teacher and his father was a black former judge turned fixer. Thomas chose his new first name because he admired Michael Jordan. He chose the middle name "Andolini" because it was the actual surname of the fictional Corleone crime family in The Godfather (novel), and Thomas related to Michael Corleone's efforts to break away from his corrupt family. His new last name was simply based on similarity to his given, prior last name of Thompson.

Private whistleblower representation After leaving the SEC, Thomas joined Labaton Sucharow LLP as a partner. He founded and chairs a national legal practice exclusively devoted to protecting and advocating for whistleblowers who report possible securities violations to the SEC.

In explaining his decision to leave the Commission, Thomas said, "I believe the SEC whistleblower program will revolutionize the way the SEC enforces the securities laws. And having helped give birth to the program, I would like to be part of seeing it be successful."

In private practice, he has risen to national prominence. The Wall Street Journal has described him as "one of the most prominent attorneys representing whistleblowers before the government." Likewise, NPR has referred to him as "one of the top whistleblower lawyers in the country." In 2018, his clients won the then-largest SEC Whistleblower award in history for a single case, $83 million. The New York Times called the settlement a "black mark for JPMorgan's asset management division," which had over $1 trillion of assets under management. From 2008 to 2015, the subsidiaries failed to disclose numerous material conflicts of interest including, but not limited to, their preference for investing in the firm's more expensive proprietary investment products or third-party managed hedge funds that made payments to a JPMorgan affiliate.

Merrill Lynch—Thomas represented the whistleblowers responsible for the SEC's $415 million settlement with Merrill Lynch in June 2016. In discussing the importance of the record-setting settlement, Andrew Ceresney, the SEC Director of Enforcement, said "he rules concerning the safety of customer cash and securities are fundamental protections for investors and impose lines that simply can never be crossed." From 2009 to 2015, Merrill Lynch misused customer cash to generate profits for the firm, failed to safeguard customer securities from the claims of creditors and used illegal secrecy agreements that impeded employees from voluntarily providing information to the SEC. The whistleblower had himself been part of the scheme he reported. The investigation led to the 2016 wind-down of a Wall Street behemoth and the successful criminal prosecution of one rogue trader, as a second rogue trader pleaded guilty. It was the most high-profile shutdown since Steve Cohen's SAC Capital closed in 2013.

Harbert Management—Thomas represented, with co-counsel from Getnick & Getnick LLP, the whistleblower responsible for the New York Attorney General's $40 million settlement with Alabama-based Harbert Management Corporation and top executives at the firm in April 2017. Harbert Management was the fund sponsor for Harbinger Capital Partners, a $26 billion hedge fund based in New York City. The settlement, the largest-ever recovery of its kind, resolved whistleblower allegations that members of Harbinger's investment manager failed to pay millions in New York State tax on performance income for several years. Attorney General Schneiderman praised the whistleblower's "vital assistance in bringing this matter to light" and stated, "our investigation uncovered a brazen and deliberate decision to avoid paying millions in taxes owed to New York State. Harbert Management made a clear choice to skirt the rules and as a result, ordinary New York taxpayers were left footing the bill."

Orthofix International—Thomas represented two whistleblowers responsible for the SEC's $8.25 million settlement with Orthofix International, a Texas-based medical device company, in January 2017. "Orthofix's accounting failures were widespread and significant, causing Orthofix to make false statements to the public about its financial condition," said Antonia Chion, Associate Director in the SEC's Enforcement Division.

Public whistleblower advocacy Domestically, Thomas has lobbied key stakeholders to preserve the pillars of the SEC Whistleblower Program—anonymous reporting, employment protections and monetary awards. As an invited whistleblowing panelist, he contributed to the United States' Phase 4 Report Implementing the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Troubled by the use of secrecy agreements and retaliation to silence SEC whistleblowers, in partnership with the Government Accountability Project, he led a coalition of more than 250 organizations and nearly two million citizens to petition the SEC for action. Following this grassroots advocacy, the Commission has aggressively prosecuted numerous prominent companies for engaging in these illegal practices.

Internationally, Thomas has been invited to engagements at the United Nations, UK House of Commons and Australian Parliament. Following public hearings which included his testimony about the SEC Whistleblower Program and its potential application in Ontario, the Ontario Securities Commission established a whistleblower program. Similarly, after a review of the issue that included several international assistance visits by him and his testimony before the Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, the Australian government agreed to introduce stronger corporate whistleblower protections and to conduct a parliamentary inquiry into the merits of introducing a corporate whistleblower program in Australia.

Other advocacy He has served as the Chair of the Investor Rights Committee of the District of Columbia Bar and as a board member of the City Bar Justice Center, the pro bono affiliate of the New York City Bar Association. (2013–16).

Awards and recognition In 2026, Chambers and Partners ranked Thomas in Band 1 for Whistleblower Representation in the USA Nationwide category.

In 2020, Thomas was named to the "Enforcement 40" by Securities Docket, and to the "500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers" by Lawdragon, which has recognized him on the list every year since.

In 2019, Thomas was named a "Distinguished Leader" by the New York Law Journal, and a "Top Thought Leader In Trust" by Trust Across America.

In 2018, Thomas was named "Lawyer of the Year" by Taxpayers Against Fraud Educational Fund, a "Plaintiff Trailblazer" by the National Law Journal, an "MVP in Securities Law" by Law360, and was shortlisted for "Plaintiff Attorney of the Year" by Benchmark Litigation.

In 2017, Labaton Sucharow was shortlisted among the Financial Times Most Innovative North American Law Firms List as a "Standout" in the Rule of Law and Access to Justice category and Thomas was specifically identified for his work exposing corporate wrongdoing.

In both 2013 and 2012, the Ethisphere Institute named Thomas to its listing of "Attorneys Who Matter," which recognizes practitioners in the world of corporate ethics and compliance.

In 2012, Thomas was named a "Legal Rebel" by the American Bar Association Journal.

Thomas was twice awarded the Rear Admiral Hugh H. Howell Award of Excellence.