Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Qui Tam Blogs -> Virginia Qui Tam Law

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Qui Tam

: Virginia Qui Tam Law

The Utility of Private Law Enforcement: Academic Support from the University of Chicago

By Zachary A. Kitts

ADVERTISEMENTS

An article published by two professors at the University of Chicago should be of some interest to readers of this blog. See, Blowing the Whistle: Which External Controls Best Reveal Corporate Fraud?

The link is to a newsletter distributed by the University of Chicago and not to the paper itself. While the sub-title of the linked article says, "New research suggests that the best way to promote fraud detection is to extend the Federal False Claims Act to corporate fraud." At the risk of sounding snobby, I would like to point out that is not, strictly speaking, an accurate way to conceptualize what the study says.

The Federal False Claims Act, of course, applies to any person--whether a natural person or a corporation or both--who makes a false claim to the government for money. What the subheading means to say, I think, is that the unique qui tam structure of the Federal False Claims Act--which allows private citizens to prosecute cases on behalf of the government and calls for a percentage of the government's recovery to be paid to the party who blew the whistle on the fraud--should be extended to the corporate governance sphere.

And thus the article strikes upon one of the themes of this blog: the utility and effectiveness of private law enforcement generally. We do not need to go so far as qui tam to see that private law enforcement is effective.

At any rate, check out the study, and I welcome your comments.

ZAK
http://www.cookkitts.com

Full post as published by Virginia Qui Tam Law on April 22, 2008 (boomark / email).