K&G Law Group included in the 2019 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
I am pleased to announce my inclusion in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America. It is always an honor to be included in such publications, and I especially like the fact that Best Lawyers in America has a bona fide qui tam practice category.
A few words about honors like Best Lawyers in America
When I talk to potential new clients, they have often read about the results obtained by my firm in past cases, or about some honor or other I received. People sometimes ask “You handled such-and-such case and were responsible for the outcome, right?”
Well, sort of.
Yes, my firm has obtained some good results in cases over the years, but the outcome of these cases is dependent on many factors. When I have a good result in a case — and this is true for every kind of lawyer in every kind of case — it is because I had a good client.
Stated a slightly different way, I believe in the old wisdom that the outcome of any given case is usually about 75% client, 25% lawyer.
Why is the term qui tam so important?
I usually prefer to call my practice a qui tam practice because, as regular readers know, the term “whistleblower” is rather generic. To some people Edward Snowden is a heroic whistleblower. Other people think of tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand; still others think of Harry Markopolous. All of these people are indeed whistleblowers, but none of them were qui tam whistleblowers.
So maybe the best way to put it is to say that all qui tam relators are whistleblowers, but not all whistleblowers are qui tam relators. To me — and to many others — the term qui tam is preferable, as it refers to what is really going on in these cases; that is, someone brings suit on behalf of the government to enforce a right belonging to the government.
