What Phillips & Cohen LLP does

Phillips & Cohen LLP is a U.S.-based plaintiff-side law firm founded in 1987 by John R. Phillips and Mary Louise Cohen, specializing exclusively in whistleblower representation. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices in New York, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, and London, the firm represents individual whistleblowers under the federal False Claims Act (qui tam), the SEC and CFTC Dodd-Frank whistleblower programs, the IRS whistleblower program, and various international and AML/sanctions regimes. The firm accepts cases on a pure contingency fee basis, receiving a percentage of client awards or recoveries only when the client is compensated, with all initial case evaluations offered free and confidentially.

The firm's core 'product' is end-to-end legal representation across the whistleblower lifecycle: confidential case evaluation, evidence development, government advocacy, and pursuit of maximum monetary awards. Its underlying capability rests on a deep bench of former senior regulators (the former SEC Whistleblower Office Chief and former CFTC Whistleblower Office Director are both partners), former federal prosecutors, and the author of the leading False Claims Act legal reference. Phillips & Cohen reports $13 billion in cumulative recoveries for government entities and defrauded investors, $1.1 billion in client rewards, and 26 Dodd-Frank awards — the most won by any law firm — including the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history (GlaxoSmithKline, $3 billion).

The go-to-market motion is sales-led and relationship-driven: the firm markets primarily through educational content marketing, thought leadership in legal publications, and earned media (NYT, American Lawyer, CBS), with a bottom-of-funnel conversion mechanism of free, confidential case reviews. Customers are individual whistleblowers, while the opposing parties in landmark matters include large pharmaceutical, healthcare, defense, and financial-services enterprises. The firm is privately held as a limited liability partnership, has no external institutional investors, and does not raise outside funding, consistent with a contingency-fee legal practice.

Name

Phillips & Cohen LLP

Legal name

Phillips & Cohen LLP

Website

https://phillipsandcohen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Phillips & Cohen LLP is a Washington, D.C.-based contingency-fee law firm that exclusively represents individual whistleblowers under the False Claims Act, SEC, CFTC, and IRS whistleblower programs, with offices in New York, Miami, the Bay Area, and London.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Fraud, Waste & Abuse (FWA) Detection & SIU Support (BPAAAFAH)

Keywords

• Whistleblower legal representation
• Qui tam lawsuits
• False claims act
• SEC whistleblower program
• CFTC whistleblower program

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contingency Fee Legal Representation: Phillips & Cohen represents whistleblowers on a contingency basis, meaning they do not charge clients for any work unless clients receive a reward. Fees are typically a percentage of the whistleblower award or settlement recovered.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Phillips & Cohen LLP represents whistleblowers on a contingency fee basis in cases filed under the federal False Claims Act (qui tam), SEC, CFTC, and IRS whistleblower reward programs, as well as international and cryptocurrency fraud matters. The firm's work covers healthcare fraud, defense contractor fraud, securities violations, FCPA violations, anti-money laundering, and sanctions evasion cases. The firm has recovered over $13 billion for government entities and defrauded investors and won more than $1.1 billion in rewards for whistleblower clients.

Product overview

Phillips & Cohen LLP is a law firm offering legal services exclusively focused on whistleblower representation. The firm provides a unified suite of legal services across multiple whistleblower reward programs including Qui Tam/False Claims Act cases, SEC whistleblower claims, CFTC whistleblower matters, IRS whistleblower cases, and international whistleblower representation. The practice covers diverse fraud types including healthcare fraud, defense contractor fraud, securities violations, cryptocurrency fraud, and anti-money laundering violations. The firm operates from offices in Washington, London, Bay Area, Miami, and New York, and has recovered more than $13 billion for government entities and defrauded investors through its whistleblower cases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Qui Tam / False Claims Act Legal Representation Legal representation in qui tam whistleblower lawsuits involving Medicare fraud, defense contractor fraud, and other types of fraud against the federal government and states under the False Claims Act and similar state whistleblower laws. Intended for individual whistleblowers (relators) with knowledge of fraud against the government.
• SEC Whistleblower Program Legal Representation

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $13 billion recovered for government entities and defrauded investors
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Const Constantine Cannon LLP: Constantine Cannon is a leading whistleblower and antitrust firm with a dedicated whistleblower practice representing SEC, CFTC, and FCA whistleblowers. Competes directly with Phillips & Cohen for high-value whistleblower cases.
• Getnick & Getnick LLP: Getnick & Getnick is a New York-based whistleblower-only firm with a similarly focused practice on FCA qui tam and SEC whistleblower matters. Highly comparable niche specialty and contingency model.
• Ness Motley, P.A. Ness Motley is a South Carolina-based whistleblower firm specializing in qui tam and SEC whistleblower cases. Closely comparable in practice focus and contingency fee model.
• Labaton Sucharow LLP: Labaton Sucharow is a leading securities litigation firm with a prominent SEC whistleblower practice. Overlaps with Phillips & Cohen on Dodd-Frank whistleblower matters and securities class actions.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC: Washington DC-based public interest law firm with a whistleblower practice handling FCA and SEC whistleblower cases. Comparable in practice areas and government relationships.
• Zuckerman Law Firm LLC: Zuckerman Law is a specialized whistleblower firm representing SEC and CFTC whistleblowers. Focused boutique competitor with similar contingency fee model.
• Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP: Kaplan Fox is a New York-based plaintiffs' firm with a whistleblower practice handling SEC and qui tam cases. Direct competitor in whistleblower representation.
• Berger Montague PC: Philadelphia-based complex litigation firm with a whistleblower practice spanning FCA qui tam and SEC matters. Comparable practice areas and case types.
• Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP: Seattle-based plaintiffs' firm with a qui tam and whistleblower practice. Competes for False Claims Act cases including healthcare fraud matters.
• Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP: Robbins Geller is a leading securities class action firm with a whistleblower practice. Adjacent to Phillips & Cohen in representing securities fraud whistleblowers and SEC matters.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Phillips & Cohen LLP