Ethical Issues in Whistleblower Litigation

What should you do if a client shows up with copies of his employer’s confidential documents?  What if the client’s employer is a hospital and the documents are private medical records of individual patients?  May you review the documents?  Use them to prepare a lawsuit?  What are your obligations to the owner of the confidential information? This program will address the unique ethical issues lawyers face in whistleblower litigation under the False Claims Act and other statutes that provide incentives for whistleblowers to report fraud and abuse.  Topics covered include:

Learning Objectives:

i.    Conduct a Pre-Lawsuit Investigation

ii.   Identify How Not to Use and Abuse Confidential Information

iii.  Grasp The “No Contact” Rule

iv.  Know the Major Conflicts of Interest

v.   Familiarity with the Lawyers as Whistleblowers Scenario

vi.  Familiarity with the Government Employees as Whistleblower Scenario

vii.  Distinguishing between Reasonable vs. Excessive Attorneys’ Fees