Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has extensive experience advising clients on the False Claims Act (FCA) and defending FCA lawsuits and related civil, criminal and congressional investigations. Our lawyers have assisted Fortune 500 and nonprofit companies in more than 40 significant FCA matters. We routinely conduct internal investigations, respond to government and congressional investigations, defend lawsuits filed under the FCA, defend retaliation lawsuits brought by alleged whistleblowers and seek to avert debarment and exclusion proceedings. Our lawyers have written several books and articles on the FCA and speak frequently at industry conferences on the subject. We have proven experience in handling the most complex and high-stakes FCA matters, and our team includes lawyers with experience working at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This government experience provides Akin Gump clients with invaluable insights into government strategy and decision-making in FCA litigation and lays the groundwork for effective negotiations with government officials.
Our Industry and Agency Knowledge
FCA cases frequently turn on the substantive requirements imposed by the statutes, regulations and contracts applicable to the particular industries that do business with the government. Akin Gump lawyers have extensive knowledge of those requirements and the government agencies that administer and interpret them. This industry and agency knowledge is crucial to our ability to provide efficient and effective representation in FCA matters.
Health Care/Pharmaceutical
We have a core group of lawyers devoted exclusively to representing health industry clients. The firm’s clients include major insurance plans, hospital networks and health care systems, major academic medical centers, pharmaceutical companies, community and specialty hospitals, manufacturers of medical technology, home care companies, physician groups and specialty associations, practice management companies, health maintenance organizations and other managed care entities, and lenders, investors and underwriters involved in health industry transactions. Akin Gump is active in the areas of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and coverage litigation and counseling, compliance investigations, health policy and regulatory advocacy, health industry mergers and acquisitions, antitrust planning and litigation, private placements and other securities offerings, health regulatory support in financial restructurings, insurance licensure and related state regulatory matters, Internal Revenue Service audits and tax planning for tax-exempt organizations, approvals of new medical technologies and formation of managed care networks.
Government Contracts
Moreover, our government contracts lawyers have experience in every kind of issue that may arise in government procurements. We represent contractors, large and small, in nearly every industry involved in public business, ranging from health care companies to major aerospace companies to commercial item contractors.
Our lawyers help secure contract opportunities for our clients, assist them in performing contracts and represent them when necessary in disputes. Our experience includes supply contracts (from simple commercial items to sophisticated weapons), service contracts (from monthly janitorial services to multiyear base operations contracts), research and development contracts (from limited application research to Strategic Defense Initiative weapons and strategic planning), construction contracts (from renovations to large structures and complex overseas projects), automatic data processing equipment (ADPE) procurements (computer software, hardware and services, and telecommunications equipment and services), and grants and cooperative agreements.
Construction
Akin Gump’s construction lawyers have managed complex projects and litigated disputes across the entire spectrum of public- and private-sector development and construction activity. Our construction lawyers represent clients on a wide range of issues related to the development of large-scale commercial and residential undertakings and major infrastructure projects, including airports, highways and transit facilities, landfills, bridges, dams, tunnels, mines, power plants and pipelines. Our clients include contractors, engineers, developers, lenders, underwriters, project owners and independent sovereign states engaged in planning, financing and building projects throughout the United States and overseas.
Energy
Akin Gump’s roots run deep in the energy industry. Since our founding in Texas more than a half-century ago, energy has been a vital part of our practice, and we have played an important role in hundreds of global development projects to address the world’s energy needs. Today, Akin Gump is known for its sophisticated, diverse and full-service energy law practice, encompassing both transactional and regulatory matters. Our lawyers have represented virtually every major segment of the energy industry on issues ranging from energy policy to tax questions to environmental and land use challenges.
Our Lawyers
Our FCA lawyers rely upon the firm’s nationwide litigation capability, including litigators who are familiar with most federal District Courts in the country. Furthermore, FCA cases are frequently accompanied by parallel criminal proceedings and/or congressional hearings and investigations. Our FCA team includes our pre-eminent legislative and white-collar criminal defense practices, as well as Akin Gump lawyers with experience in the securities, employment and insurance issues that often arise in connection with an FCA case or investigation.