Sarah "Poppy" Alexander

Sarah “Poppy” Alexander is a partner in Constantine Cannon’s San Francisco office.

She represents whistleblowers and government entities in qui tam lawsuits, as well as under the various agency whistleblower programs including those administered by the Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, FinCEN, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Department of Transportation.  Poppy’s practice focuses on issues of international corruption and financial misconduct, with a specialty in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering cases.  She writes and speaks regularly about emerging topics in financial fraud, including sanctions violations, SPACs, and cryptocurrency.  Poppy has been selected to the Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list every year since 2016.

Prior to joining Constantine Cannon, Poppy was an associate attorney at Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld LLP, where she worked to ensure prisoners received appropriate medical and mental health care and adequate accommodations for disabilities in jails and prisons.

Poppy maintains an active pro bono practice, with a particular emphasis on protecting the rights of children and adults in detention and protecting communities harmed by corporate bad acts abroad.  Poppy is also a board member for the Impact Fund, an organization devoted to funding and supporting cutting edge civil rights litigation.

Poppy graduated from Harvard Law School, where she was the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and an active member of the Harvard Human Rights Clinic. Poppy spent one of her law school summers at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, fighting for abortion rights and the rights of pregnant women. After law school, Poppy clerked for the Honorable Martha Craig Daughtrey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Nashville, TN.

Poppy holds an M.A. in Political Theory from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. from Yale College.

Poppy is one of the hiring partners for Constantine Cannon.  You can read her thoughts on why she loves the work that she does here in Business Insider.

Featured posts

Sarah "Poppy" Alexander's Publications & Speeches

Oct112023
Transnational Whistleblower Litigation

Whistleblower partner Poppy Alexander was published in a Transnational Litigation Blog article, Transnational Whistleblower Litigation (October 11, 2023).

Read More
May182023
How to Be a Crypto Whistleblower

Whistleblower partner Poppy Alexander was published in a The Information article, How to Be a Crypto Whistleblower (May 18, 2023) (subscription required).

Read More
Feb72023
FinCEN’s Whistleblower Program Sharpens Focus on Money Launderers

Whistleblower partner Poppy Alexander was published in a Bloomberg Law article, FinCEN’s Whistleblower Program Sharpens Focus on Money Launderers (February 7, 2023).

Read More
Jan152023
Op-Ed: Crypto is under fire, but is this really the end for its Wild West?

Whistleblower partner Poppy Alexander was published in Los Angeles Times, Op-Ed: Crypto is under fire, but is this really the end for its Wild West?...

Read More
Mar42022
Expand this Whistleblower Program so Putin’s Cronies Can’t Evade Sanctions

Whistleblower partner Poppy Alexander was published in Fortune, Expand this whistleblower program so Putin’s cronies can’t evade sanctions (March 4, 2022).  

Read More
Jan142022
Elon Musk Is Mocking Whistleblowers. Here's Why That's a Good Thing

Whistleblower partners Mary Inman and Poppy Alexander were published in Newsweek, Elon Musk Is Mocking Whistleblowers. Here's Why That's a Good Thing (January 14, 2022).

Read More
Nov112021
SB 8 Reveals the Difference Between a Private Vigilante Law and a Private Attorney General Statute

Whistleblower attorneys Poppy Alexander and Chris McLamb were published in the Harvard Law & Policy Review, SB 8 Reveals the Difference Between a Private Vigilante...

Read More
Oct142021
Enablers Act will do more to stop money laundering than lawmakers realize

Whistleblower attorney Poppy Alexander was published in The Hill, Enablers Act will do more to stop money laundering than lawmakers realize (October 14, 2021).

Read More
Aug112020
SEC Examines Relationship Between Bad Books and Bribery Schemes

Whistleblower attorneys Mike Ronickher and Sarah “Poppy” Alexander published in the New York Law Journal, SEC Examines Relationship Between Bad Books and Bribery Schemes. Click...

Read More
Aug112020
SEC Examines Relationship Between Bad Books and Bribery Schemes

Michael Ronickher and Sarah Poppy Alexander were published in the New York Law Journal.  The article discusses a heartening trend in the SEC's enforcement of...

Read More
Oct172017
Panelist: "U.S. Government Focus on Whistleblower Retaliation"

Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Compliance & Ethics Institute, Las Vegas, NV (October 17, 2017)

Read More
Nov72016
Reforming Private Prisons from the Inside

The Tennessean publishes article by Constantine Cannon whistleblower lawyers Anne Hartman and Sarah Poppy Alexander (November 2, 2016).   Click here to read the article.

Read More
Oct312016
Congress' Band-Aid—It’s Up to Whistleblowers to Combat EB-5 Fraud

Epoch Times (October 31, 2016).  Click here to read the article.

Read More
Oct202016
We Need Whistleblowers To Save Indian Workers From H-1B Visa Fraud

Constantine Cannon attorneys Sarah Poppy Alexander and Rosie Dawn Griffin, published in The Huffington Post. Click here to read the article. (October 13, 2016)

Read More
Oct62016
Calling All FCPA Whistleblowers—The SEC Wants You

Offshore Alert (October 6, 2016) Click here to read the article.

Read More
Jul62016
Anatomy of an IRS Phone Scam

Think Advisor (July 6, 2016) Click here to read the article.

Read More