Qui Tam

How Whistleblower Lawyers Work Alongside Government Lawyers In Successful Qui Tam Cases Under the False Claims Act

By Finch McCranie, Esq.

When whistleblower attorneys bring a qui tam False Claims Act case, the most successful results usually occur when Government counsel and the whistleblower's lawyers (Relator?s counsel) work together in what is known as the ?public-private? partnership model.

This approach to qui tam cases allows the government to leverage its limited resources by calling on the resources provided by private attorneys. This is essentially a ?joint prosecution effort, ? in which the government counsel and investigators can rely on Relator?s counsel at each stage,

--from the beginning of its investigation,

--to obtaining input for preparation of subpoenas for documentary evidence from the defendants,

--to review of evidence compiled by the government in response to subpoenas,

--to evaluation of the responses and explanations that defendants provide,

--to providing analyses and summaries of evidence rebutting the defendants? factual arguments,

--to performing research that ultimately will be used by the government to rebut the defendants? legal arguments,

--to performing damages calculations and marshaling arguments in support,

--to consulting with the government on negotiation strategies and steps to be taken to resolve the matter,

--and, finally, to try the case, or otherwise resolve the case.

The taxpaying members of the public are the beneficiaries of this joint effort, which allows the government both to stop and recover damages for fraud, as well as to make those who steal from taxpayers think twice.

Full post as published by Whistleblower Lawyer Blog on August 03, 2010 (boomark / email).