Eric Havian

Career

Through his long career Eric has acted as lead counsel for some of the most successful whistleblowers reporting fraud in a broad range of industries, from dialysis to library books, from electric power to water pipes. He has filed cases with every major whistleblower program in the country, including the False Claims Act, the SEC, the IRS, the CFTC, the Department of Transportation and many State whistleblower programs.

Eric began his legal career as the lead Assistant U.S. Attorney in San Francisco for defense procurement fraud, where he brought dozens of successful criminal prosecutions and won numerous jury trials. After that, Eric entered private practice to represent whistleblowers in such diverse matters as fraud involving satellite technology, mischarging government programs, and most recently in a record breaking 2023 settlement with KBR for alleged Iraq war fraud.

Eric strongly believes that a whistleblower firm must be able to litigate matters that end up decided by a jury. He has deep experience and an extensive track record in the courtroom. Building on litigation skills developed as a federal prosecutor, Eric has litigated multiple successful court and jury trials, as well as successful appeals on behalf of whistleblowers. That includes his lead counsel role in a $224 million trial verdict against the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power for overcharging various California schools, after which he was selected by the National Law Journal as one of the Top 10 “Winning” Attorneys in the nation. Two years later, after a string of additional whistleblower case successes, California Lawyer Magazine named him a “California Lawyer of the Year.”

Among over a hundred whistleblower cases in which Eric was also lead counsel:

United States of America et al v. KBR Inc. resulted in the largest settlement to date related to Iraq war fraud. Eric’s two whistleblower clients, Geoffrey Howard and Zella Hamphill Anderson, shared an award of $31.5 million, a 29% share of the total dollars recovered.

United States ex rel. Koo v. GS Caltex was a bid rigging case that resulted in a published court decision awarding our client 23% of over $160 million (approximately $37 million). The award was the highest percentage ever granted to a whistleblower in a case that large. The opinion stands as one of the most important precedents for fair and just whistleblower awards.

United States ex rel. Ferro v. TRW, Inc. alleged that the defendant installed defective parts in highly classified spy satellites. The substandard technology was so sensitive that Eric was given a top secret compartmented security clearance and could only review documents in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). He is one of the only whistleblower attorneys ever to receive such a sensitive clearance, reflecting the government’s confidence in the value of his contribution to the case. The company paid $350 million to settle the case and Eric’s client, Robert Ferro, received $48.7 million.

United States et al. ex rel. Barbetta v. DaVita Inc. was a major health care fraud case against one of the two largest dialysis companies in the nation. DaVita paid nearly $400 million to settle the matter, at the time the largest kickback recovery in the country, and Eric’s whistleblower client received tens of millions of dollars as his reward.

Eric has also achieved success and recognition in other kinds of whistleblower cases. He worked with the Securities and Exchange Commission staff to help draft regulations that govern the SEC’s highly successful whistleblower rewards program. He has made numerous submissions on behalf of whistleblowers to the SEC, as well as other agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service.

Eric has enjoyed mentoring law students in various contexts—as an Adjunct Professor teaching a fraud seminar at Stanford Law School and Berkeley Law School; and more recently as a Wasserstein Fellow at Harvard advising law students on careers in public interest law.

Publications

“Sacramento County administrator overseeing COVID food program profited from it,” The Sacramento Bee (August 5, 2025) with Mary Inman

“Whistleblower firm takes aim at Silicon Valley's defense ambitions,” Daily Journal (June 16, 2025) with Ari Yampolsky

“Trump’s IRS Chief Counsel Choice Not a Friend to Whistleblowers,” Bloomberg Tax (May 29, 2025) with Chris McLamb and Mike Ronickher

“Trump's Hate for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Isn't About 'Government Efficiency' | Opinion,” Newsweek (February 24, 2025)

“A Guide on When, Where, and How to Blow the Whistle Safely,” Journal of Accountancy (July 1, 2023) with Chris McLamb

“CFPB Whistleblower Rule Key to Warding Off Bank Crises,” Law360 (May 23, 2023) with Ari Yampolsky (paywall)

“A Recent Case Could Undermine the Rules That Have Been Protecting Taxpayer Money From Fraud Since the Time of Lincoln,” Fortune (June 23, 2022) with Mike Ronickher and Ari Yampolsky

Comments on the North American Securities Administrators Association’s (NASAA) Model Whistleblower Award and Protection Act (June 30, 2020) with Mike Ronickher and Chris McLamb

“Republicans Want Trump-Ukraine Whistleblower Named, So Why Won't They Do It Themselves?,” USA Today (December 3, 2019) with Mike Ronickher

“Strengthen the Intel Community’s Whistleblower Act,” Breaking Defense (October 22, 2019)

“The Cost-Benefit Calculus for Whistleblowers Just Took a Turn for the Worse,” The Washington Post (September 20, 2019) (paywall)

“Espionage Act Should Exempt Journalists — Whether Assange Is a 'Real' Reporter or Not,” The Hill (May 28, 2019)

“The Need for Whistleblowers in AML Enforcement,” Banking Exchange (April 22, 2019) with Mike Ronickher

“AML Enforcement Needs More Whistleblowers,” American Banker (January 7, 2019) with Mike Ronickher (paywall)

“Why We Need Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Awards,” Law360 (December 6, 2018) with Mike Ronickher (paywall)

“DOJ Scores Big With Record-Breaking Alstom FCPA Sentence -- Who's Next on the DOJ'S FCPA Hit List?,” OffshoreAlert (November 16, 2015) (with Gordon Schnell)

“How to Punish Corporate Fraudsters,” The New York Times (October 22, 2015) (paywall)

“Whistleblower Showdown Heads to Supreme Court,” CFO (September 29, 2015)

“The Whistleblowers Are the Heroes,” The Wall Street Journal (January 26, 2015) (paywall)

“Snowden's Actions Shouldn't Deter Whistleblowers From Stopping Fraud in Classified Projects,” Homeland Security Today (October 16, 2013)

“Whistle Stop,” New York Post (February 26, 2011) (with Erika Kelton)

“The SEC Whistleblower Program: How to Avoid Killing a Good Idea,” Truthout (December 15, 2010)

“SEC Whistle-Blower Program Worth Protecting,” The Washington Post – Capital Business (December 13, 2010) (with Erika Kelton)

“Whistleblower Program (Corporations Are Right to Fear the Power of the Whistleblower Program),” National Law Journal (November 22, 2010) (with Erika Kelton) (paywall)

“Most Whistleblowers Have ‘Clean Hands’,” Financial Times (August 10, 2010) (with Erika Kelton) (paywall)

“Blowing the Whistle on Fraud,” Contract Management (October 1, 2001)

“Environment Is New Target of Qui Tam Lawsuits,” Toxics Law Reporter, No. 36 (September 14, 2000)

Education

Awards