Life Sciences Securities Litigation & Healthcare Fraud

The number of securities class actions filed against publicly traded pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and health care product and services companies has grown exponentially over the last few years, particularly in 2017. Federal courts are continually issuing complex decisions in these cases. In this continually changing landscape, you need experienced litigation counsel who understands your business and industry, can readily assist you in making informed disclosure decisions and reduce litigation risk, and expertly defend these cases when they are filed.

We have a long track record of successes for our clients in these matters.

Securities Litigation

Goodwin has one of the most well-respected and successful securities litigation practices in the United States. We defend our leading medical device, biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients aggressively in high profile securities class actions, shareholder derivative cases, and M&A litigation. Our securities litigators scrutinize and advise on our clients’ public disclosures long before any litigation is filed for compliance with federal securities laws and to allow our clients to assess and reduce litigation risk. If and when securities class actions are filed, we defend our clients aggressively, often getting these cases dismissed at the earliest juncture.

Our securities litigators also represent publicly traded clients in M&A litigation in state and federal courts across the country. Our team regularly represents companies, boards, directors, officers and their financial advisors in M&A litigation, and has achieved success in both ensuring deal certainty and disposing of these lawsuits. Our securities litigators are critical members of the transaction team early in and throughout the board’s process, advising on fiduciary obligations in the sale process, merger terms, transaction-related disclosures, and any litigation that may (and often does) follow.

Healthcare Fraud

Many shareholder class action and shareholder derivative cases proceed side-by-side with investigations by the SEC’s Enforcement Division, one or more state Attorneys General, FINRA or other regulatory bodies, and/or the Department of Justice. Our securities litigators and white collar and healthcare fraud litigators regularly handle such parallel proceedings, working as a team with our clients to navigate these complex and high-risk situations.

Allegations of False Claims Act (FCA) violations pose a significant threat to many corporations, especially those in the healthcare industry. State attorneys general are conducting more frequent investigations and asserting claims under state laws modeled around the federal False Claims Act, and more qui tam actions are being filed each year as the opportunity for and incidences of significant whistleblower monetary awards increase.

Goodwin regularly represents pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, manufacturers of durable medical equipment, hospitals, health care delivery organizations, medical laboratories, nursing homes, medical clinics, and their officers, directors, and employees in complex criminal fraud investigations, criminal proceedings and prosecutions, and civil and qui tam litigation.

We have extensive experience defending clients in health care fraud investigations brought by the Department of Justice, state Attorneys General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Food & Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and a number of other government agencies. These investigations have involved a wide range of health care fraud allegations, including Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance carrier fraud; kickbacks; off-label promotion of products; violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; HIPAA violations; and nursing home abuse. We also conduct internal investigations into potential health care fraud for our clients and assist them in designing compliance programs.