McDermott Will & Emery announced that Rebecca C. Martin has joined the firm in the New York office as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group.  Ms. Martin has spent the past 15 years in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) where she served as Co-Chief of the Civil Frauds Unit and Health Care Fraud Coordinator.

During her tenure in the US Attorney’s Office, Ms. Martin was jointly responsible for the civil frauds docket, with an emphasis on health care fraud matters, in the Southern District of New York.  She handled and supervised investigations and litigations concerning violations of the False Claims Act; Anti-Kickback Statute; Stark Law; Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA); Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes and regulations addressing accounting, misbranding, and off-label marketing.  Ms. Martin’s docket encompassed numerous parallel proceedings, as well as a multitude of high-profile, precedent-setting cases in the health care and financial areas.  Under her leadership, the Civil Frauds Unit obtained billions of dollars in recoveries.

A focus of Ms. Martin’s practice will be internal investigations and matters involving the False Claims Act.  She will work closely with New York partner Tony Maida who has extensive experience in health care fraud and abuse and compliance issues.  Mr. Maida previously served as a senior official in the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General (OIG) at the US Department of Health and Human Services where he represented the agency on False Claims Act and Civil Monetary Penalty Law cases involving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.  Since joining McDermott almost two years ago, Mr. Maida’s practice has encompassed defending health care companies in DOJ and OIG investigations and advising companies on regulatory issues, government disclosures, and compliance program development.

“Tony and I worked together in our respective roles within the government, and he is one of the most talented lawyers I have ever come across when dealing with health care fraud and compliance issues,” said Ms. Martin.  “I am looking forward to joining forces with Tony and McDermott’s deeply experienced healthcare litigators to serve the firm’s health care clients in the complex and parallel proceedings they are facing in today’s legal landscape.”

Ms. Martin’s focus on health care litigation will bolster McDermott’s bench of highly regarded health care litigators, many of whom established their successful practices defending clients in civil and criminal investigations after obtaining valuable experience serving in various government enforcement positions.  The firm’s health care litigation team includes, among others, David Rosenbloom, whose clients include pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, health care providers, and academic medical centers.  Mr. Rosenbloom previously served as a Deputy Chief in the criminal division of the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and now focuses his practice on qui tam litigation, health care fraud and abuse compliance, internal investigations, and defending health care providers and manufacturers. The team also includes noted litigator and former federal prosecutor in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Russell Hayman.  Mr. Hayman handles criminal and civil health care fraud matters, including alleged violations of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, qui tam litigation, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement matters, and matters arising under the Stark law.  In addition, Mark Pearlstein, former federal prosecutor in Boston, supervised the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the US Attorney’s Office before joining McDermott where he now represents clients before courts and government agencies throughout the United States in the investigation and trials of complex white-collar criminal cases and other government enforcement matters, including health care.

“We are always excited to welcome the vast knowledge and skillset of former government lawyers as we continue providing comprehensive services, including top-notch litigation support, to the firm’s health care client base,” said Lazar Raynal, global chair of McDermott’s Litigation Practice Group. “Becky brings a great breadth and depth of civil litigation experience to McDermott’s global platform and we are delighted to welcome her to the team.”

“Becky’s civil litigation background will complement the criminal background that partner Todd Harrison brought to the New York office upon his arrival in 2013.” said John T. Lutz, co-head of McDermott’s New York office.

Before joining McDermott, Mr. Harrison served as a Deputy Chief for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.  At McDermott he represents companies and executives in complex, high profile matters, including insider trading, money laundering, securities violations, market manipulation racketeering, and a wide range of fraud cases.

“I am delighted to join forces with Becky here in the New York office,” said Todd Harrison.  “I look forward to combining my Eastern District criminal background with her Southern District civil background to enhance our ability to provide full-service white collar support for our clients.”

Ms. Martin’s arrival continues McDermott’s East Coast momentum after the arrival of litigators Kerry Scanlon and Jeremy White in the Washington, DC office and the announcement that Justice Robert J. Cordy will be joining McDermott’s Boston office in October.  The East Coast hiring trend follows the recent West Coast addition of litigation partners Michael Morgan in the Los Angeles office and Roy McDonald in the Silicon Valley office.  These exciting new additions are part of the ongoing effort to expand McDermott’s Litigation Practice Group from coast to coast.

Ms. Martin received her JD from Rutgers School of Law and served as a law clerk to US District Court Judge John C. Lifland of New Jersey and US Court of Appeals Judge Theodore McKee of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.