The author of the first legal treatise on whistleblowing, Kohn is recognized as one of the top experts in whistleblower protection law. He also has written extensively on the subject of political prisoners and the history of the abrogation of the rights of political protestors. His interest in First Amendment issues as related to political protest likely spurred his interest in whistleblowers, as whistleblowing cases typically are adjudicated on the basis of the First Amendment.