Qui tam attorneys are people who represent private plaintiffs, such as a whistleblowers, who are empowered by some law to sue in the name of the government. For example, the False Claims Act allows whistleblowers with original information about fraud committed against the government to sue a company in the government’s name. The government then has a the choice of intervening and taking over the lawsuit filed in its name, or declining to intervene, in which case the whistleblower can litigate the case on his or her own (with the help of their qui tam attorney) in the government’s stead.
The term “qui tam” comes from the Latin phrase:
qui tam pro domino rege, quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur,
which means “he who sues on behalf of the state, as well as himself.”
A whistleblower who brings a qui tam lawsuit on behalf of the government is called a “relator.” Qui tam lawsuits have a case caption that denotes that the relator is suing on behalf of the government. For example:
United States ex rel. [the relator] v. [the defendant]
“Ex rel” translates literally to “on the relation/narration of,” so United States ex rel. [the relator] means that the lawsuit is in the name of the United States and is based on information from the relator, who is “relating” or narrating their story to show that the defendant defrauded the government. A qui tam attorney helps the relator assemble their story to make it as convincing as possible. And as a good qui tam lawyer will tell you, sometimes less is more when you’re drafting the complaint. Giving the reader information overload can be a real problem.
How to find a qui tam attorney near you
Our qui tam attorneys are always happy to talk. We have a national practice and are admitted to practice in courts across the country. We are based in Oakland, California, but take whistleblower cases anywhere in the United States. And we often fly out to meet qui tam relators before we agree to take their case. It helps to really get to know each other.
If we’re not local to you, you can search the Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF) website for a TAF member near you. TAF is an organization composed of many False Claims Act attorneys from around the country.
Qui tam attorneys fees
Generally, qui tam attorneys take cases on contingency, which means they will advance all their time for free and pay for any costs to develop and file the qui tam relator’s case. In exchange, qui tam attorneys typically ask for a percentage of any whistleblower award. It is typical for an experienced qui tam lawyer to ask for 40-45 percent of the relator’s share of any monetary recovery. Once the relator and qui tam attorney agree to a particular percentage, it should generally be memorialized in writing in a retainer agreement.
Our Qui Tam Lawyers' Experience
Our whistleblower lawyers are experienced in a variety of actions, including cases involving healthcare fraud (typically brought by Medicare and Medicaid fraud whistleblowers or pharmaceutical whistleblowers), defense contractor fraud, as well as securities fraud and tax fraud.