Funk Quoted in National Law Journal, Corporate Counsel, and Legal Times on SEC Whistleblower Bounty Rules Vote

"T. Markus Funk, a white collar partner at Perkins Coie, said the new rules may also make companies more inclined to come forward to the SEC when confronted with internal wrongdoing. 'An increase in tips breeds an increase in self-reporting,' he said. 'If a problem is widely known within a company, that’s an additional reason to come forward rather than wait for the ax to drop.'"  National Law Journal & Legal Times

"Markus Funk, a partner in Perkins Coie's litigation practice and a member of the firm's Investigations & White Collar Defense group, said, "Where the rubber meets the road in whistleblower bounty incentives is in the context of whether Dodd-Frank works at cross purposes with the government's relentless push to try to get American business to spend [considerable]  resources on developing comprehensive compliance policies."

"When you create an incentive system that encourages people with promises of millions to report directly to the government and bypass any internal compliance mechanisms," said Funk, "you are really undercutting the whole purpose of setting up all these tip lines and doing trainings and so forth."

But the SEC is restricted by the language of the act, said Funk. "In the U.K. Bribery Act—at least as we think it's going to be—there is an affirmative defense for having a comprehensive and effective compliance program in place," said Funk. "If you can show you have it, and you really legitimately tried to make things work, you are not going to be held accountable for the acts of rogue employees," said Funk. Not so with Dodd-Frank." - Corporate Counsel