$86 million. That’s how much whistleblowers received in awards this past week alone.

For in-house counsel, a whistleblower suit is a sign that something’s gone wrong, repeatedly, from compliance concerns to a lack of trusted reporting structures. Zach Brez, a partner in Kirkland & Ellis’ government, regulatory and internal investigations practice and a former staff attorney in the division of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission, said it’s unlikely the series of whistleblower awards from Duke University to the Houston Housing Authority signal a tied-together trend.