Reuben A. Guttman, born 1959 in New York City, is an American attorney and a founding Partner of Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC ("GBB"), a DC-based plaintiffs' firm[1] His practice involves complex litigation and class actions. He has served as counsel in some of the largest recoveries under the False Claims Act. The International Business Times has called Guttman "one of the world's most prominent whistleblower attorneys," and he has been recognized as a Washingtonian Top Lawyer by Washingtonian Magazine.[2][3][4][5]

Reuben A. Guttman
Reuben A. Guttman
Mr. Guttman lectures students at a NITA program at Seattle University Law School
Born1959 (age 64–65)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC

Citing “wins recouping billions of dollars for the federal and state governments,” a February 19, 2015 profile of Mr. Guttman by the Boston Globe's STAT NEWS referred to him as the “Lawyer Pharma Loves to Hate.”[6] Citing a $98 million recovery from Community Health Systems, Inc., Law 360 named Mr. Guttman a “Health Care MVP” and profiled him in a December 1, 2014 article.[1] Author David Dayen, writing in his Book, Chain of Title (The New Press, 2016) cited Mr. Guttman's work on behalf of “robo-signing” whistleblower, Lynn Szymoniak, noting “he had won some of the largest awards in the history of the False Claims Act; there was really nobody better for the case.” [7] Writing in their book, The Corporate Whistleblower's Survival Guide, (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2011), authors Tom Devine and Tarek F. Massarani wrote that “in settling qui tam litigation, [Mr. Guttman] has aggressively and successfully negotiated for corrective action against public health and safety consequences from prescription drug fraud.” [8] In their book, When Good Companies Go Bad, (ABC CLIO, 2014), authors Donald Beachler and Thomas Shevory profiled Mr. Guttman's off label marketing case against Abbott labs, involving the drug Depakote, which resulted in a $1.6 billion recovery in 2012 for state and federal governments.[9] The Spring, 2013 Cover Story for the Emory Lawyer profiled Mr. Guttman as one of Emory Law School's “leading players” in the area of complex litigation noting that “even before filing a case, Guttman’s team engages in intensive investigation, retains experts and prepares as if a trial is imminent.” [10] Mr. Guttman is a regular contributor to Medium.[11]

Background edit

Reuben Guttman earned his J.D. degree in 1985 at Emory University School of Law, and was awarded a bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester in 1981.[1] He is a founding Partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC and is based in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.[1] He is a senior fellow and adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Law – Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.[12] He is a founder of and senior advisor to the Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review (ECGAR), published online by Emory University Law School.[13]

Career edit

In 2012, Guttman served as lead counsel for the lead whistleblower, Meredith McCoyd, in U.S. ex rel. McCoyd v. Abbott Laboratories,[14][15][16] resulting in a $1.6 billion recovery for the government. The McCoyd case involved the unlawful marketing of the anti-epileptic drug Depakote. In 2012, he also represented one of the four main whistleblowers in a case against GlaxoSmithKline that returned over $3 billion to the government.[17] That same year, Guttman represented whistleblower Lynn Szymoniak whose qui tam case, involving fraudulent mortgage assignments, was resolved as part of the government's $25 billion settlement with some of the world's largest banks.[18]

In 2013, Guttman was lead counsel in an intervened case by the United States Department of Justice against Pfizer Pharmaceutical involving the kidney-transplant drug Rapamune.[19] On July 30, 2013, The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Pfizer had agreed to pay $491 million to settle criminal and civil charges stemming from the pharmaceutical company's illegal marketing of Rapamune.[20][21] Guttman represented two whistleblowers—sales representative Marlene Sandler and pharmacist Scott Paris—who brought the initial action in the case, United States ex rel. Sandler et al v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc.[20]

Also in 2013, Guttman was lead counsel in U.S. ex rel. Kurnik v. Amgen, Inc. et al., resulting in the recovery of $24.9 million from Amgen.[22][23][24] That case exposed kickbacks designed to increase sales of the drug Aranesp.

In 2017, Mr. Guttman served as lead counsel for the plaintiff/relator, Beverly Brown, in the case U.S. ex rel. Beverly Brown v. Celgene Corp., which resulted in the recovery of $280 million.[25]

Guttman represented one of the six main whistleblowers in litigation resulting in the government's September 2009, $2.3 billion settlement with Pfizer Pharmaceutical,[26] and he served as counsel in U.S. ex rel. Johnson v. Shell Oil Co.,[27] in which over $300 million was recovered from the oil industry as a result of allegations of unpaid oil royalties. On behalf of a European whistleblower, Guttman was counsel in U.S. ex rel. Bunk v. Birkart, a litigation that resulted in a $13 million settlement with the U.S. government.[28] The Birkart case stemmed from an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of shipping services sold to the U.S. Defense Department.

Guttman served as lead counsel in a series of cases resulting in the recovery of more than $30 million to mid-western meatpackers under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Cases he brought on behalf of nuclear weapons workers at the United States Government "Manhattan Project" nuclear weapons sites resulted in congressional oversight and changes in procurement practices, and dread disease compensation legislation, affecting the nation's nuclear weapons complex and its workforce.[29]

Guttman served as counsel for the whistleblowers including the Natural Resources Defense Counsel in an intervened action against Lockheed.[30] The Lockheed matter arose from the cleanup of the U.S. Government gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky.

Guttman has testified before committees of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate on the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA).[1] In 1992, he advised President-elect Clinton's transition team on labor policy and worker health and safety regulation.[1]

Academic career edit

Guttman is a senior fellow and adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution and has been a team leader for Emory Law School's Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program.[31] In 2013, he was elected to the board of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.[32] For the Fall Semester, 2012, Guttman was appointed as an adjunct professor at the Rutgers University Law School, where he taught in the trial program.[1]

As part of a U.S. State Department program in conjunction with the Emory Law School Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, Guttman has been one of five visiting professors at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City training Mexican judges and practitioners on oral advocacy and trial practice.[1] Guttman was one of four Emory faculty members who traveled to Shanghai, China in 2013 to participate in a program to train financial fraud prosecutors on the investigation and prosecution of insider trading cases.[33]

Guttman is a faculty member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.[34] He has been a guest lecturer at a number of universities including Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, Peking University in Beijing and Renmin University in Beijing.[1] In 2006, he was invited by the Dutch Embassy in China to participate in a dialogue with Chinese scholars and worker representatives on China's labor laws.[1]

Publications and Commentary edit

Guttman is the author and/or editor of numerous articles, book chapters, and technical publications and his commentary has appeared in Market Watch,[35] Marketplace,[36] American Lawyer Media,[37] AOL Government, Accounting Today, the Austin American-Statesman,[38] and The Jerusalem Post.[39]

His article, Pharmaceutical Regulation in the United States; A Confluence of Influences, was published in Chinese by the Peking University Public Interest Law Journal.[40] He is co-author of Gonzalez v. Hewitt, SEC v. HG Pharmaceutical, and U.S. ex Rel. Rodriguez v. Hughes, which are case files published by the Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution (2010) and used to train law students and practicing attorneys. Among his publications, Guttman is co-author of Chapters 5–10 in Internal Investigations 2012: How to Protect Your Clients or Companies in the Global, Post Dodd-Frank World.[41] Among other publications, he wrote The Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Guidance for Compliance, published as Chapter 18 in Environmental Management in Healthcare Facilities;[42] The Dormant Commerce Clause and Interstate Transportation of Waste, published in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Resource Management and Technology;[43] and co-authored The Asbestos Model: Labor and Citizens and a Multi-Pronged Approach to Regulatory Change, published as a chapter in Conflict Resolution and Public Policy.[44]

He has appeared on ABC Nightly News, CNN, Bloomberg News,[45] and IBTimes TV.[4] He has been quoted in publications including the International Business Times,[2][3] The Wall Street Journal,[46][47] The New York Times,[48] The Washington Post,[49] the Los Angeles Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,[50] USA Today, The Dallas Morning News, and national wire services including the Associated Press, Reuters[51] and Bloomberg.[52][53]

Guttman's commentary on politics and the law has appeared in The European Lawyer, Law 360, The Austin-Statesman and The Jerusalem Post. He also writes a regular blog for its affiliated website, The Global Legal Post.[54] He has been a regular contributor to the blog for the American Constitution Society.[55] He is listed as a SuperLawyer[56] and also was cited in Grant & Eisenhofer's recognition by the National Law Journal as one of the nation's hottest Plaintiff's firms for 2012.[57]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC, Biography of Reuben A. Guttman". Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b Brinded, Lianna (April 15, 2013). "Whistleblower Bounties Will Prevent Future Fraud and Scandals". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b Brinded, Lianna (May 8, 2013). "Switzerland Fails in Bid to Extradite HSBC Tax Whistleblower Herve Falciani". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Interview: Powerful Whistleblower Attorney: US Protection and Bounty System Helps Root Out Financial Scandal". IBTimes TV UK. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Washingtonian Magazine Names Two GBB Partners to its Top Lawyers 2015 List". Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  6. ^ Weintraub, Karen (19 December 2015). "Reuben Guttman: The lawyer pharma loves to hate". International Business Times. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  7. ^ Dayen, David (December 2017). Chain of Title. The New Press. ISBN 978-1-62097-350-9.
  8. ^ Devine, Tom; Maassarani, Tarek (2011). The Corporate Whistleblower's Survival Guide. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-1-60509-987-3.
  9. ^ Beachler, Donald; Shevory, Thomas (November 2014). When Good Companies Go Bad: 100 Corporate Miscalculations and Misdeeds. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-405-6.
  10. ^ Cline, Holly (14 March 2013). "Winning in a High-Stakes Arena". Emory Lawyer. Emory University School of Law. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  11. ^ "Reuben Guttman". Medium. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  12. ^ "Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution". Emory University School of Law. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review". Emory University School of Law. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Press Release: Abbott Labs to Pay $1.5 Billion to Resolve Criminal & Civil Investigations of Off-label Promotion of Depakote". United States Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs. May 7, 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  15. ^ "May 10, 2012 Interview of Reuben Guttman, Attorney for Whistleblower in Lawsuit Against Abbott Laboratories". Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  16. ^ Schmidt and Thomas, Michael S. and Katie (May 7, 2012). "Abbott Settles Marketing Lawsuit". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Press release: GlaxoSmithKline and Pay $3 Billion to Resolve Fraud Allegations and Failure to Report Safety Data to Plead Guilty". United States Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs. July 2, 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Press release: U.S. Attorney's Offices Reach $95 Million Settlement In False Claims Case Against Nation's Five Largest Financial Institutions". United States Attorney's Office, Western District of North Carolina. March 12, 2012. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  19. ^ Wilson, Duff (21 September 2010). "U.S. Joins Pfizer Suit Over Drug's Marketing". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  20. ^ a b "Press Release: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Agrees to Pay $490.0 Million for Marketing the Prescription Drug Rapamune for Unapproved Uses". U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  21. ^ Thomas, Katie (30 July 2013). "Pfizer Settles a Drug Marketing Case for $491 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Press release: $24.9 Million Settlement With Biotechnology Company Amgen, Inc. Resolves South Carolina False Claims Act Lawsuit". United States Attorney's Office, South Carolina. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 July 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  23. ^ Baynes, Terry (April 18, 2013). "Q&A: Whistle-blower Lawyer on Amgen Settlement; False Claims Act". Thomson Reuters News & Insight. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  24. ^ Silverman, Ed (17 April 2013). "Did Someone Say Kickbacks? Amgen Pays $29M Over Aranesp Marketing". Pharmalot. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  25. ^ Thomas, Katie (25 June 2017). "Celgene to Pay $280 Million to Settle Fraud Suit Over Cancer Drugs". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Press release: Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History". United States Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  27. ^ "Press release: Shell Oil to Pay United States $110 Million for Underpayment of Oil Royalties". United States Department of Justice. 23 January 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  28. ^ "Press release: U.S. Sues European Transportation Firms for Bid Rigging Related to U.S. Military Personnel Moving Expenses". United States Department of Justice. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  29. ^ Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, et al. v. Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy, et al., No. 97cv01926 (D.C. Cir. July 7, 2000).
  30. ^ "Press release: U.S. Joins Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Suit Against Lockheed Martin". United States Department of Justice. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  31. ^ "Adjunct Faculty Profiles - Reuben Guttman". Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  32. ^ "Leadership: Board of Directors". American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  33. ^ Guttman, Reuben (18 April 2013). "The New Global Legal Norms". The Global Legal Post. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  34. ^ "2012-13 Faculty". National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  35. ^ Guttman, Reuben (8 February 2011). "Fraudsters Lobby to Muzzle Whistleblowers". MarketWatch. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  36. ^ "Rule Encouraging Whistleblowers to Come Forward". Marketplace. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  37. ^ Guttman, Reuben. "First Person: Don't Muzzle the Whistleblowers". Corporate Counsel, American Lawyer Media. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  38. ^ Guttman, Reuben (26 January 2013). "Doping and How We Play the Game". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  39. ^ Guttman, Reuben (18 September 2012). "Teva and the Long Arm of US Securities Law". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  40. ^ Guttman, Reuben (2010). "Pharmaceutical Regulation in the United States: A Confluence of Influences". Peking University Public Interest Law Journal. 1: 187.
  41. ^ Guttman, Reuben. "Internal Investigations 2012: How to Protect Your Clients or Companies in the Global, Post Dodd-Frank World" (PDF). Practising Law Institute. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  42. ^ Guttman, Reuben (1998). Environmental Management in Healthcare Facilities. W.B. Saunders, a division of Harcourt Brace & Company. pp. Chapter 18: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Guidance for Compliance.
  43. ^ Guttman, Reuben (June 1993). "The Dormant Commerce Clause and Interstate Transportation of Waste". University of Pennsylvania Journal of Resource Management and Technology.
  44. ^ Guttman, Reuben (1990). Conflict Resolution and Public Policy. Greenwood Press. pp. The Asbestos Model: Labor and Citizens and a Multi-Pronged Approach to Regulatory Change.
  45. ^ "Guttman, Pearlman Debate Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Rules". Bloomberg TV. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  46. ^ Holzer, Jessica (21 August 2012). "SEC Pays $50,000 in First Whistleblower Award". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  47. ^ Loftus and Kendall, Peter and Brent (7 May 2012). "Abbott to Pay $1.6 Billion to Settle Depakote Charges". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  48. ^ Schmidt and Thomas, Michael S. and Katie (7 May 2012). "Abbott Settles Marketing Lawsuit". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  49. ^ Aizenman, N.C. (7 May 2012). "Abbott Laboratories Agrees to $1.6 Billion Settlement Over Marketing of Depakote". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  50. ^ "Labor Board Files Suit to Allow Janitor Union at Peachtree Center". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2 September 1988. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  51. ^ Baynes, Terry (25 April 2013). "Drugmakers' Deals With Pharmacies Come Under Scrutiny". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  52. ^ Feeley and Fisk, Jef and Margaret Cronin (7 May 2012). "Abbott to Pay $1.6 Billion to Settle Depakote Drug Allegations". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  53. ^ Feeley, Jef (21 September 2010). "U.S. Seeks to Join Pfizer Whistleblower Lawsuit". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  54. ^ "Reuben Guttman Profile". Global Legal Post. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  55. ^ Guttman, Reuben (8 May 2012). "Taking the Next Step in Pharma Fraud". ACSblog, American Constitution Society. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  56. ^ "Reuben A. Guttman Attorney Profile". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  57. ^ "The Plaintiffs' Hot List". The National Law Journal. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2013.