James F. Barger, Jr
“Over the course of eight years, Jim was able to prioritize my case when key points arose, and provided counsel in Texaand the east coast. He made himself available after hours, via text, email, and phone. Jim has also been able to not only navigate issues as they arose, but has consistently been able to anticipate issues prior to them occurring. His networking and track record of successful representation speaks for itself.” — whistleblower client and healthcare executive.
“Jim Barger, Jr. is an excellent attorney. I trust him, and I have very much faith in him. I know that he has my best interest at heart. He is extremely knowledgeable and personable as well. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.”
Jim Barger, Jr. is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who handles complex government investigations, particularly qui tam whistleblower litigation under the False Claims Act. Straight out of law school, Jim won a ground-breaking $2 million settlement against a major health insurance company employing a then-novel legal theory under the tort of outrage; two years later, he set the record for the largest qui tam case in Alabama history, winning $24.5 million from Southerncare. Jim holds the records for the largest home health fraud case in U.S. history, securing $150 million from Amedisys in 2014, and the largest hospice fraud case in U.S. history, securing $75 million from Vitas in 2017. Jim has served as lead trial counsel in more than 100 qui tam whistleblower cases across the country, has testified as a healthcare fraud expert in federal court, and regularly consults with companies on healthcare compliance issues. He has been quoted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, NPR, and CNN.
One of very few attorneys in the country ever to be tapped to serve as a private attorney general for the United States in a jury trial as part of a Department of Justice trial team, Jim is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court and multiple federal trial and appellate courts and has litigated qui tam lawsuits all over the United States.
Trial Record & Peer Review
Early in his career, Jim Barger gained national recognition as a bold trial lawyer for his role in the highly-publicized trial of Iranian-American contractor Alex Latifi under the International Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). In the wake of Latifi’s acquittal, Jim and colleages Henry Frohsin and Elliott Walthall became the only attorneys in Alabama ever to receive an award of legal fees against the federal government in a criminal case.
Jim’s pro bono work includes representing death row inmates on appeal where his dramatic post-trial cross-examination of a juror resulted in freeing James Allen Harrison from death row.
Among only 2.5% of attorneys nationwide distinguished as first “Rising Star” and then “Super Lawyer,” Jim regularly receives the highest designation by multiple peer-review organizations including Best Lawyers and the U.S. News & World Reports, and since 2012 has consistently been named by his peers as among Alabama’s top 50 plaintiff lawyers and as one of America’s top 100 high stakes litigators.
Teaching & Academic Scholarship
A long-standing adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, Jim teaches a popular advanced-level course on White Collar investigations with a focus on the False Claims Act and healthcare fraud and has published articles in leading academic law reviews, including the Tulane Law Review and Georgetown University’s American Criminal Law Review. Together with other members of his firm, Jim is author and editor of the definitive, long-standing two-volume treatise: Healthcare Fraud, Enforcement, and Compliance. He has been quoted by dozens of other scholars in legal journals from major academic institutions.
Community Service
Jim serves his community as a board member of the environmental stewardship organizations, St. Simons Land Trust and One Hundred Miles and is the Chairman of the Board of The Gathering Place, a unique community-based student leadership organization that has served coastal Georgia for more than 40 years.
Admisssions
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
- Pro Hac Vice in multiple federal courts nationwide
- Alabama State Courts
- Georgia State Courts
Education
- Furman University, B.A., English and Philosphy, 1994
- University of Mississippi, M.A., Southern Studies, 1996
- University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2005
- Senior Editor, Alabama Law Review
- John A. Cambell Moot Court Board
- Alpha Epsilon Lambda Professional Honors Society
- Bench & Bar Legal Honor Society
- Public Interest Institute Board
Professional Honors & Activities
- Adjunct Professor of Law, White Collar Practice, University of Alabama School of Law
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Trustee, University of Alabama School of Law, Farrah Law Society
- Former Executive-in-Residence, Samford University, Brock School of Business
- Best Lawyers, featured in U.S. News & World Report
- “Litigation Star,” Benchmark Plaintiff (2012-present)
- “Top Attorney,” Birmingham Magazine (2012) and “Rising Star”Birmingham Magazine (2009)
- “Super Lawyer,” Super Lawyers (2012-present) and “Rising Star” Super Lawyers (2010-2012)
- Named one of “The State’s Outstanding Young Lawyers” by Business Alabama Magazine (2010)
- Senior Editor, Alabama Law Review
- Board Member, John A. Campbell Moot Court Board
- Board Member, University of Alabama Public Interest Institute
- Member, Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society
- Member, Alpha Epsilon Lambda Professional Honors Society
- Member, Outdoor Writer’s Association of America
- Member, Committee for the Future of Children’s Hospital
Jim Barger is often cited in legal sources and consulted by the media and has been quoted and/or had his academic scholarship cited in the following publications:
Law Reviews & Legal Journals
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- Alabama Fellow Jim Barger Wins New Trial in Appeal for Death Row Inmate, 4 Litigation Commentary & Rev. 105 (June/July 2011)
- Pamala A Bucy, States, Statutes, and Fraud: A Study of Emerging State Efforts to Combat White Collar Crime, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 1523, 1612+ (2010)
- Marc S. Raspanti and Palema C. Brecht, The Minnesota False Claims Act: Is it Minnesota Nice?, 14 Bench & Bar of Minnesota (2010)
- Esther Lee, Cooper v. McClure: The Difficulty of Proving Antitrust Violations and the Need for a False Claims Act, 4 J. Bus. & Tech. 395, 409+ (2009)
- Michael J. Davidson, VFATA: Virginia’s False Claims Act, 3 Liberty U. L. Rev. 1, 14 (2009)
- New York State Law Regulations Mandate Effective Compliance Programs for Hospitals, BNA Health Law Reporter (Aug. 6, 2009)
- Whistleblower Case Involving Turbocharging Goes Forward, BNA Health Care Compliance Guide, Vol 9 (June 15, 2009)
- Whistleblower-Initiated Enforcement Actions Against Health Care Fraud and Abuse in The United States, 1996-2005, 149 Annals of Internal Medicine 342 (American College of Physicians 2008)
- Leslie J. Carter, Blowing the Whistle on Avoiding Use Taxes in Online Purchases, 2008 U. Chi. Legal F. 453, 488+ (2008)
- Raxak Mahat, A Carrot for the Lawyer: Providing Economic Incentives for In-House Lawyers in a Sarbanes-Oxley Regime, 21 Geor. J. Legal Ethics 913 (2008)
- Leslie J. Carter, Law in a Networked World: Blowing the Whistle on Avoiding Use Taxes in Online Purchases, 2008 U Chi Legal F 453 (2008)
- Michael Rich, Prosecutorial Indiscretion: Encouraging the Department of Justice to Rein in Out-of-Control Qui Tam Litigation Under the False Claims Act, 76 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1233 (2008)
- Ryan C. Drake, Corporate Responsibility and State False Claims Acts: Evaluating the Use of Qui Tam Proceedings to Revoke the Charters of Corporate Polluters, 12 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 267 (2008)
- A False Claims Act is Finally Enacted in Georgia: What Georgia Lawyers Should Know About the State False Medicaid Claims Act, 13 Ga. Bar J. 12 (2007)
- Dr. Carl Pacini & Michael Bret Hood, The Role of Qui Tam Actions Under the False Claims Act in Preventing and Deterring Fraud Against the Government, 15 U. Miami Bus. L. Rev. 273 (2007)
- Dayna Bowen Matthew, The Moral Hazard Problem With Privatization of Public Enforcement: The Case of Pharmaceutical Fraud, 40 U. Mich. J. L. Reform 281 (2007)
- Geoffrey Christohper Rapp, Beyond Protection: Invigorating Incentives for Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate and Securities Fraud Whistleblowers, 87 B.U.L. Rev. 91 (2007)
- R. Harrison Smith, A Key Time for Qui Tam: The False Claims Act and Alabama, 58 Ala. L. Rev. 1199 (2007)
- Pamela A Bucy, Fraud and Federalism: Overlapping Jurisdictions, Overlapping Crimes: Federalism and False Claims, 28 Cardozo L. Rev. 1599 (2007)
- Christina Orsini Broderick, Qui Tam Provisions and the Public Interest: An Empirical Analysis, 107 Colum. L. Rev. 949 (2007)
- Pamela A. Bucy, Moral Messengers: Delegating Prosecutorial Power, 59 SMU L. Rev. 321 (2006)
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Annotated Statutes
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- Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 12 sec 5C
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Books and Treatises
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- 2010 Health Law Handbook 6:3, The Federal False Claims Act and the Fraud Enforcement recovery Act of 2009 (2010)
- Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse s 6:11, Medicaid fraud control units (MFCUs) (2010)
- 21 Andrews Government Contract Litigation Reporter 2 (2008)
- 13 Andrews Health Care Fraud Litigation Reporter 10 (2008)
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Magazines, Newspapers, Online Sources, Periodicals & Television
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- “The Trump Organization Indictment: Allen Weisselberg, the Charges and What Else to Know” The Wall Street Journal (July 2, 2021)
- “New Parkinson’s Drug Target of DoJ Investigation” CNN (March 9, 2019)
- “Ex-Justice Dept. Lawyer Offered to Sell Secret U.S. Whistleblower Lawsuits” The Washington Post (Jan 25, 2018)
- “Hospice Fraud Investigation: Lamar County woman claims a for-profit hospice company took advantage of her dying husband” Fox 5 News Atlanta (July 9, 2014)
- “U.S. Supreme Court Ruled in Favor of an Alabama Whistleblower. What Does That Mean for Others Who Expose Corruption?”Birmingham News (June 22, 2014)
- “The Business of Dying: Hospice Care in the U.S.” HuffPost Live (June 19, 2014)
- “Want to be a Whistleblower like the Monroeville Nurse? Birmingham Attorney Has Some Tips” Birmingham News” (April 24, 2014)
- “Whistleblower Lawsuit: Monroeville Nurse to Get $15 Million for Exposing Medicare False Claims” Birmingham News (April 23, 2014)
- “Medicare Rules Create a Booming Business in Hospice Care for People Who Aren’t Dying” Washington Post (December 26, 2013)
- “National Hospice Company Accused of Fraud” NBC News (January 5, 2012)
- “Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleges Billing Abuses at HPH Hospice”Tampa Bay Times (October 20, 2011)
- “Alabama Capital Murder Cases Rekindle Debate Over ‘Judge Override'” Ledger-Enquirer (October 9, 2011)
- “For Profit Hospices Keep Patients Longer, Push Prices Up,” NPR (June 28, 2011)
- “Concerns About Costs Rise With Hospice Use,” New York Times(June 27, 2011)
- Unbundling, BNA Health Care Compliance Guide, Vol 10, Bureau of National Affairs (2010)
- Lawyers for Latifi Pursuing Damages, Huntsville Times (Sept. 22, 2009)
- Export Control Laws Worry Academics, Nature Magazine, Vol 461 (September 10, 2009)
- New York State Law Regulations Mandate Effective Compliance Programs for Hospitals, BNA Health Law Reporter (Aug. 6, 2009)
- Whistleblower Case Involving Turbocharging Goes Forward, BNA Health Care Compliance Guide, Vol 9 (June 15, 2009)
- High-Profile Lawyers Spin Out of Big Firms, Form New Ones,Birmingham Business Journal (Nov. 28, 2008)
- The Curious Case of Alex Latifi, ABA Journal (Oct. 1, 2008)
- U.S. Attorney Disputes Misconduct in Arms Export Case, Bloomberg (July 28, 2008)
- Feds Knock: A Business is Lost, USA Today (July 10, 2008)
- For a complete list of press pieces citing or quoting Jim Barger, visit our press room.
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Academic Publications & Speaking Engagements
- Panelist – Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund National Conference, Washington DC (September 2019)
- Author – “The Ouroborus Paradox: A Case Study of Potentially Absurd Results When Substituting a Human Being for a Corporate Whistleblower” – Taxpayers Against Fraud (September 2019)
- Panelist – Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund National Conference, Washington DC (September 2016)
- Author – “Life, Death, & Medicare Fraud: The Corruption of Hospice And What the Private Public Partnership Under the False Claims Act is Doing About it” American Criminal Law Review, Georgetown (February 2016)
- Panelist – “Business of Being a Lawyer” University of Alabama School of Law (January 2016)
- Panelist – American Association of Justice, Montreal, Canada (July 2015)
- Symposium Speaker – Georgetown Law Center “Private Justice in Public Enforcement” American Criminal Law Review, Georgetown University, Washington DC (Feb 2015)
- Faculty – American Bar Association Health Care Fraud National Institute, San Francisco, CA (May 2014)
- Faculty – “Blowing the Whistle: Qui Tam Actions” Birmingham Bar Association, Birmingham, AL (Feb 2014)
- Faculty – 13th Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund National Conference, Washington DC (Sept. 2013)
- Faculty – American Bar Association National False Claims Act & Qui Tam Trial Institute, Washington DC (June 2013)
- Faculty – 12th Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund National Conference, Washington DC (Sept 2012)
- Faculty – American Bar Association International Law Section, Annual Meeting, Washington DC (April 2009)
- Faculty – American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime, San Francisco, CA (March 2009)
- Author – “A First-Hand Look at Effective Defense Trial Strategies in a Criminal Arms Export Case,” White Collar Crime 2009, American Bar Association (2009)
- Faculty– Intellectual Property Law Update, National Business Institute, Birmingham, AL (October 2008)
- Faculty – American Bar Association Export Controls and Sanctions Committee, Washington DC (July 2008)
- Co-Host – American Bar Association Intellectual Property Roundtable, Birmingham, Alabama (June 2008)
- Author – “The Axion Case: How a Rare Defense Victory May Shape the Future Of Arms Export Control Act Prosecutions and Defense Trial Strategies,” BNA White Collar Crime Report, Bureau of National Affairs (2008)
- Presenter – “Government Investigations and Corporations: Three Recent Developments,” Federal Bar Association’s 34th Annual Government Acquisition Symposium, Huntsville, Alabama (November 2006) (with Henry Frohsin)
- Author – “Spotlight: States, Statutes, and Fraud,” False Claims Act & Qui Tam Quarterly Review (2006) (with Bucy, Eubanks, & Raspanti)
- Author – “States, Statutes, and Fraud: An Empirical Study of Emerging State False Claims Acts,” Tulane Law Review (2005) (with Bucy, Eubanks, & Raspanti)
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