Qui tam lawyers Rob Vogel, Shelley Slade & Janet Goldstein of the national qui tam law firm Vogel, Slade & Goldstein, LLP, have been named “Whistleblower Lawyers of the Year” by Taxpayers Against Fraud, the preeminent public interest organization dedicated to combating fraud against the government.
At its annual Awards Dinner on October 24, 2013 in Washington, D.C., TAF announced that it had selected the three partners as whistleblower lawyers of the year for their groundbreaking work on two whistleblower cases that led to over $500 million in combined recoveries. TAF described the three partners as “super achievers“ who have been “at the forefront of False Claims Act litigation from the start” and who have “shaped qui tam law practice over the past two decades.”
In announcing the award before the audience of several hundred private whistleblower attorneys, whistleblowers and government counsel, TAF recognized Vogel, Slade & Goldstein specifically for its work in US. ex rel. Campbell v. Pfizer, a qui tam action that alleged the off-label marketing of a kidney transplant drug with a black box warning, andU.S. ex rel. Lindley v. Gallup Organization, an action that alleged that the polling company used dishonest statements and claims to overbill the government while marketing itself as “the most trusted name in polling.” The firm’s work on the Campbell and Lindley cases helped the Government recover $491 million from Pfizer and $10.5 million from Gallup. TAF described the partners of Vogel, Slade & Goldstein as “brilliant,” “focused,” “creative,” ”forward thinking,” fearless,” “poised under fire” and “passionate about what they do.”
In accepting the award, firm managing partner Rob Vogel expressed his gratitude to the Department of Justice attorneys and federal case agents “whose hard work is indispensable to the large majority of successful outcomes in qui tam cases.” He also said that he considered it a privilege to be able to represent Michael Lindley, a client who “recognized wrongdoing and took action to stop it, while others around him chose to wear blinders.”
Firm principal Shelley Slade thanked TAF for its exceptional work educating private and government attorneys about the False Claims Act; she also thanked Mark Campbell, the firm’s whistleblower client, and Tim Eisel, the firm’s co-counsel on the Campbell case, for their work as part of the team on the Pfizer case. Slade described Campbell and Eisel as “about the most patient, considerate, thoughtful, supportive and savvy human beings you could ever hope to find.” Receiving the award,
VS&G Partner Janet Goldstein thanked the firm’s whistleblower clients for their tenacity and courage. “Your steadfastness in challenging the wrongdoing of powerful companies with deep pockets and political connections has inspired us to go above and beyond in providing the first-rate legal representation you deserve.”