Will Ellerbe Reflects on his Public Policy Training and Whistleblower Trial Victory with Michigan’s Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

Berger Montague Shareholder William Ellerbe recently spoke to the University of Michigan’s Science, Technology and Public Policy Program (STPP) about how his training with the STPP has influenced his False Claims Act, Qui Tam, & Whistleblower practice in general and Berger Montague’s record-setting $1.64 Billion trial verdict over Janssen Product, LP, specifically.

“Understanding the FCA as through the lens of public policy has been tremendously valuable to me in my practice,” said Mr. Ellerbe. “The False Claims Act (FCA) allows us to stand in the shoes of the Federal government to try these cases. The FCA is itself a public policy tool that incentives insiders who are aware of fraud to come forward with that information,” said Mr. Ellerbe.

The FCA’s public policy purpose is to address fraud and abuse in government contracts. The Act dates back to the Civil War and was intended to address fraud perpetrated by military contractors. In its current form, the FCA is most often used to address health care fraud, although it is used to combat fraud throughout government.

Read more about Mr. Ellerbe’s interview here.

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm is active in the fields of antitrust, commercial litigation, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For more than 50 years, Berger Montague has played lead roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.