It’s Time for the Supreme Court To Stop Fueling False Claims Whistle-Blower Suits

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The federal False Claims Act continues to lure prospective “qui tam relators” (i.e., whistle blowers ), and their attorneys, with a gleaming pot of gold. To reach the end of the rainbow, a qui tam relator must file, on behalf of the United States, a suit alleging that a government contractor, Medicare/Medicaid provider, or other […]

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Law360 Op-Ed on “the Supreme Court Bar” Attracts Wide Readership

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Thank you Law 360 subscribers for making my op-ed, A Broader View of the US Supreme Court Bar, that publication’s second-most-read expert analysis during the week of April 22. Law 360 subscribers can access the op-ed here, and anyone can download a copy by clicking above. Earlier in April, I had posted the op-ed on

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Redefining “the Supreme Court Bar”

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Groucho Marx famously said “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member.” Unlike Groucho’s club, the Supreme Court Bar is a “club” in which a multitude of talented appellate lawyers throughout the United States—not just an elite handful of marquee players—can be, should be, and in fact are,

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Justice Kavanaugh’s Debut Supreme Court Opinion

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Reprinted from The Voice (April 3, 2019), published by DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s first Supreme Court opinion is a model of stylistic clarity and judicial restraint. Writing for a unanimous Court, his January 8, 2019 opinion in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc., No. 17-1272, holds that where

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Thinking Amicus

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Effective use of amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs is an important part of appellate practice in federal and state courts.  Every lawyer who is handling or managing an appeal should “think amicus.”  In other words, think about whether submission of one or more amicus briefs would be helpful to your client’s position. Thinking

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Collaborate Collegially on Legal Writing

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Have you ever circulated for review and comment what you thought was a well-written draft motion or brief? Then you know how disconcerting it feels when your draft is returned with so much redlining (or undecipherable handwritten edits and notes), that your original is barely visible. How should you, a previously confident legal writer with

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Supreme Court’s Sports Betting Decision Reveals Hidden Preemption Requirement

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On May 14, the Supreme Court held in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association that the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”) is unconstitutional. The Court ruled that PASPA’s  prohibition against States authorizing sports betting violates the “anticommandeering principle,” which precludes Congress from directing States to take, or refrain from taking, particular legislative

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Supreme Court Declines To Review D.C. Circuit Drone Strike Case That Implicates Separation of Powers

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In Ali Jaber v. United States, No. 16-5093 (D.C. Cir. June 30, 2017), recently retired D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown authored a unanimous panel opinion faithfully applying circuit precedent and the political question doctrine to bar a declaratory judgment suit challenging the wisdom of a U.S. drone strike in Yemen that allegedly resulted in

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