Michael D. Kohn
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Michael D. Kohn, a founding partner of the Washington, D.C. law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, is one of the top litigators specializing in whistleblower protection law. A graduate of Rutgers University (B.S. in biology), he received his law degree from the Antioch School of Law. After graduating from Antioch, he served as Director of Legal Ethics for the Government Accountability Project. Kohn co-founded the law firm now known as Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto with his brother Stephen in 1988.
The original focus of the law firm was on defending [nuclear power] industry employees who blew the whistle on their employers over nuclear safety issues; eventually, Kohn and the firm have branched out into defending whistleblowers in all areas of industry and government employees blowing the whistle on government corruption and fraud. KKC's most famous client was Linda Tripp, one of the most famous whistleblowers in history, for whom they successfully sued the federal government Executive Branch on the grounds that the Clinton Administration violated the Privacy Act while retaliating against her for blowing the whistle on Monica Lewinsky's own brand of executively privileged whistleblowing, which nearly derailed both the presidency of Bill Clinton and the political ambitions of his First Lady, Hillary. For defending the legal rights of Lewinsky, Kohn and his partners, brother Stephen and David K. Colapinto, endured the wrath of centrist liberals, despite the fact that they are dedicated political progressives.
As a litigator, Michael Kohn has won whistleblower cases in the private sector against such business behemoths as Ashland Inc., Brown & Root and Georgia Power; he has also litigated successfully against federal, state and local governments.
Michael Kohn serves as General Counsel for the National Whistleblower Center and is an attorney-trustee for the National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund.
[edit] Publications
- Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees (Praeger, 2004)
- The Labor Lawyers Guide to the Rights and Responsibilities of Employee Whistleblowers (Quorum, 1988)
