Whistleblower Blawg

Mike Bothwell, the founding partner of Bothwell Bracker & Vann, has handled a wide variety of cases since 1994. Bothwell Bracker & Vann is one of the only firms in the southeast focusing exclusively on False Claims Act whistleblower litigation. As one of the pioneers in the qui tam bar, Mr. Bothwell has helped build case law at the district level on several key issues. Bothwell Bracker & Vann has frequently been awarded the maximum relator’s share for their work in both intervened and nonintervened cases. Bothwell Bracker & Vann also has extensive appellate experience nationwide. In just the last few years, the firm has prevailed in high-profile cases in several U.S. Courts of Appeal. In U.S. ex rel. Hill v. Morehouse Medical Associates, 2002 WL 22019936 (11th Cir., Aug. 15, 2003), the firm established favorable law on what a relator must show to satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b), an issue of concern to all FCA practitioners. And in an issue of first impression, in U.S. ex rel. Bledsoe vs. Community Health Systems, 342 F.3d 634 (6th Cir. 2003), the firm established favorable precedent regarding a relator’s rights under the “alternate remedy” provision of the FCA. In U.S. ex rel. Hampton v. Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., 318 F.3d 214 (D.C. Cir. 2003), the firm helped define a national standard for interpreting the first to file provision of the FCA and opened new territory in appellate jurisdiction of MDL cases where not all consolidated cases had been finally decided. The firm also co-authored an amicus brief on the prevailing side of Cook County v. U.S. ex rel. Chandler, 538 U.S. 119 (2003), establishing that local governmental entities were not excluded from the FCA. Mr. Bothwell is frequently consulted by other FCA practitioners, and most firm cases are referrals or co-counsel arrangements with other attorneys.