BigLaw firms fined $2M after a federal judge found their attorneys repeatedly relied on false expert testimony while defending a client in Georgia.
Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom agreed to pay $2 million in sanctions in a case involving accusations that they helped a client conceal records and present false statements, according to court filings and statements referenced by Reuters.
U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell of the Middle District of Georgia said Skadden partner Richard Bernardo and Kirkland partner Geoffrey Wyatt continued to rely on an expert witness for their client, electronic health records vendor eClinicalWorks, even though they knew the witness had given false testimony.
Bernardo and Wyatt did not respond to requests for comment, and spokespeople for both firms also declined to comment, according to Reuters.
Judge Treadwell had previously sanctioned eClinicalWorks multiple times for withholding evidence in the lawsuit. The case alleged, in part, that the company made false claims that enabled medical providers to secure higher Medicare reimbursements from the government than they would have otherwise received.
eClinicalWorks denied the allegations but later settled the case.
BigLaw firms fined and funds directed to legal ethics
Under Judge Treadwell’s order issued Wednesday, the $2 million paid by the firms will support instruction on ethics and professionalism at Georgia’s accredited law schools.
The case involved allegations of misconduct related to federal health benefit programs, similar to other matters in which prosecutors have charged public officials with misusing pandemic or medical funds, such as when a Massachusetts lawmaker was charged with pandemic benefit fraud.
Medicare is administered by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees federal health insurance programs for seniors and certain younger people with disabilities and maintains guidance on proper billing practices on its official site at cms.gov.