Chris McLamb
PARTNER | HE, HIM, HIS
in | Office: 202 935 6076 | Direct: 202 601 8557
chris@whistleblower.law
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Chris McLamb is a partner at Whistleblower Partners. His practice focuses on helping whistleblowers report financial frauds under the IRS, SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN whistleblower programs. Chris also has substantial experience bringing claims under the False Claims Act against large infrastructure companies, healthcare providers, and defense contractors.
Chris represents whistleblowers from numerous fields with a particular focus on financial frauds.
His cases have frequently involved misrepresentations by high-profile technology startups, accounting frauds, regulatory violations, large financial institutions, cryptocurrency scams, and tax evasion. He was also part of the legal team that recovered over $138 million from the nation’s largest wireless carriers for overcharging the State of California and local governments.
Chris graduated from Stanford Law School, where he was an articles editor of the Stanford Law Review and a Public Interest Fellow. While in law school, Chris represented children with disabilities as part of Stanford’s Youth and Education Law Project and worked as a summer associate at a San Francisco law firm that focuses on consumer, employment, and civil-rights matters. Prior to law school, Chris graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa society and received the Lynne Cooper Harvey Writing Prize in American Culture Studies.
“I'm always struck by the courage and selflessness of our clients. It's an honor to work with them to stop wrongdoing, and there's no better feeling than seeing them rewarded for doing so.”
Chris has been selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list since 2022. He was named to the Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list in 2023, which recognizes top attorneys who “will define where the legal profession of our country goes.”
Before law school, Chris worked as a fellow for the American Constitution Society.
In his personal time, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, arguing about college basketball, and listening to audiobooks.
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Represented a whistleblower and numerous California local governments in litigation against major wireless carriers for overcharging for wireless services throughout the country, recovering over $138 million for government entities and the whistleblower, including the second-largest California False Claims Act settlement in the state’s history outside of the healthcare industry.
Represents Tyler Shultz, who played a pivotal role in exposing rampant fraud by Theranos, a "unicorn" startup company that claimed to have revolutionized the blood testing industry through its finger-prick testing technology. The Department of Justice ultimately convicted Theranos' founder Elizabeth Holmes and COO Sunny Balwani, and the SEC reached a $500,000 settlement with Holmes and the company. Shultz is one of the central figures in John Carreyrou’s bestseller Bad Blood, which broke the story of this Enron-style fraud and documented the rise and fall of the multibillion-dollar startup.
Represents a whistleblower who received a $300,000 (CAD) award from the Ontario Securities Commission for reporting complex misconduct.
Represented a whistleblower who reported potentially defective bolts on a critical infrastructure project, resulting in a $2 million settlement and extended warranty protections for the government.
Represents Ed Pierson, a former Boeing manager who exposed relentless production pressures and quality failures at Boeing’s 737 Factory in Renton, Washington, before the tragic crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Mr. Pierson was the only Boeing whistleblower to testify publicly before the Committee as part of its investigation into the crashes and the production and certification of the 737 MAX.
Represents Charlie Rawl, a whistleblower who exposed one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, engineered by Allen Stanford. The scheme caused $8 billion in losses to investors, which the government continues to collect. The IRS has recognized that Mr. Rawl is entitled to a reward for his role in revealing the massive fraud, though the final amount has not yet been determined.
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“Another Missed Chance to Strengthen California’s False Claims Act,” Daily Journal (September 8, 2020).
Comments on the North American Securities Administrators Association’s (NASAA) Model Whistleblower Award and Protection Act (June 30, 2020) (with Eric Havian and Mike Ronickher).
“Why a Whistleblower Could Do What Mueller Couldn't,” The Hill (October 8, 2019) (with Leah Judge)
“Bill Aims to Clarify the CFCA,” Daily Journal (April 10, 2019) (with Leah Judge)
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“Episode 2: Whistleblower Experience,” Warning Bells with Ed Pierson (October 15, 2022)
“Litigating the Resistance: Getting Paid to Fight for Social Justice,” Stanford Law School (April 9, 2018)
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American Constitution Society, Bay Area Lawyer Chapter (2018-2022)
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Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation (2023)
Super Lawyers, Rising Stars (2022-2024)
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Stanford Law School (2016)
Washington University in St. Louis (2012)