Reuben A. Guttman
Top rated Civil Litigation attorney in Washington, Washington DC
Guttman, Buschner and Brooks, PLLC
Practice Areas: Civil Litigation, Class Action & Mass Torts, Employment & Labor; view more
Licensed in Washington DC since: 1988
Education: Emory University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2013 - 2023 Call today:
202-851-2466
Guttman, Buschner and Brooks, PLLC
1509 22nd St NWWashington, DC 20037 Visit website
Details
The senior founding partner of the firm Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC, Reuben A. Guttman focuses his practice on complex litigation and class actions in cases involving fraud, antitrust, breach of fiduciary duty, consumer law, employment and labor law, civil rights, environmental law, and other common law torts or statutory violations and more. In the legal industry for over three decades, he serves clients from the firm’s office in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Guttman has provided legal representation in some of the biggest False Claims Act settlements as well as lawsuits filed under securities laws, the Price Anderson Act, the WARN Act, Department of Energy (DOE) statutes and regulations, and many employment discrimination, labor and environmental statutes. He was referred to as "one of the world's most renowned whistleblower attorneys" by the International Business Times.
Dedicated to the rights of his clients, Mr. Guttman fights aggressively for their needs and best interests. He has received a “Superb” rating on Avvo, along with several five-star ratings and reviews from his satisfied clients, as well as endorsements from his peers. A fellow of the American Bar Foundation, he is an advisory board member of the American constitution society.
With a major in American history, Mr. Guttman is a graduate of the University of Rochester. He obtained his Juris Doctor in 1985 from the Emory University School of Law. He currently serves as a senior fellow and adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.
An established attorney, Mr. Guttman is licensed to practice in Georgia, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the following courts:
- The U.S. Supreme Court
- The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- The U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska
- The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
- The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 3rd, 4th and D.C. Circuits
In addition to his advocacy work for employees and whistleblowers, Mr. Guttman has written and edited a large number of technical publications, book chapters and articles. Many of his commentaries and articles have been published in leading journals. Also, he has made numerous notable media appearances, including on CNN, Bloomberg News, and ABC Nightly News.
Practice areas
Civil Litigation: Plaintiff, Class Action/Mass Torts: Plaintiff, Employment & Labor: Employee, Health Care, Business Litigation, Civil RightsFocus areas
Health & Health Care Law, Hospital Law
- 20% Civil Litigation: Plaintiff
- 20% Class Action/Mass Torts: Plaintiff
- 20% Employment & Labor: Employee
- 20% Health Care
- 10% Business Litigation
- 10% Civil Rights
First Admitted: 1985, Georgia
Professional Webpage: https://www.gbblegal.com/reuben-a-guttman/
Videos:
- 2019, Getting Started as a Whistleblower
- Are Federal Courts a Fair and Accessible Forum?, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg4z7Hw0DzE, Emory Law School Center For Advocacy And Dispute Resolution, 2011
- Debate on Tort Reform After Viewing of Documentary 'Hot Coffee', Emory Law School, 2011
Honors/Awards:
- One of the World’s Most Prominent Whistleblower Attorneys, International Business Times
- Lawyer Pharma Loves to Hate, Boston Globe’s STAT NEWS
- Top Lawyer, Washingtonian Magazine
- Health Care MVP, Law 360, 2014
- Leading Player in Complex Litigation, Emory School of Law, 2013
- "For significant, sustained leadership and outstanding service to the Emory Law community", Alumni Service Award, Emory School of Law, 2015
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
- Advisory Board of the American Constitution Society
- Board of the American Constitution Society
- Senior Advisor to the Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review (ECGAR), Founder
Bar/Professional Activity:
- The Supreme Court of the United States
- The United States Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit
- The United States Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit
- The United States Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit
- The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
- The United States District Court for the District of Maryland
- The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- The United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
- The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
- The United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- Georgia Bar, 1985
- New Jersey Bar, 1991
- The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1991
- D.C. Bar, 1988
Educational Background:
- University of Rochester (B.A., 1981)
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- The New World of Electoral Politics and What It Means: An Introductory Essay, Author, https://law.emory.edu/ecgar/content/volume-4/issue-special/introduction/world-electoral-politics-introductory-essay.html, Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review (Volume 4 Special Issue, 2017), 2017
- Adjunct Professor, Rutgers University School of Law
- Faculty Member, National Institute of Trial Advocacy
- Adjunct Professor, Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution
- Senior Fellow, Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution
- Labor and Citizens Groups and a Multipronged Approach to Regulatory Change (published as Chapter 5 in Conflict Resolution and Public Policy, (Edited by Miriam K. Mills, Greenwood Press, 1990)
- Co-Author, The Asbestos Model
- Co-Author, Internal Investigations: How to Protect Your Clients or Companies in the Global, Post Dodd-Frank World (Practicing Law Institute, 2012)
- United States ex Rel Rodriguez v Hughes, et. al (Defendants Materials, Relators Materials, Faculty Materials)
- Can the False Claims Act be More Effective (Sedona Conference Journal Vol. 14, Fall, 2013)
- Controlling Government Contractors
- A Failure of Remedies: The Case of Big Pharma, Author, Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review 41, 2016
- The Origin of ECGAR, Author, https://law.emory.edu/ecgar/content/volume-1/issue-1/foreword/foreword.html, Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review (Volume 1 Issue 1, 2017), 2017
- EPA Dialogue May Result in Rules for Commercial Buildings, National Journal of Asbestos in Buildings Litigation, 1989
- Effective Compliance Means Imposing Individual Liability, 2018, https://law.emory.edu/ecgar/content/volume-5/issue-2/essays/effective-compliance-means-imposing-individual-liability.html, Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review (Volume 5 Issue 2, 2018)
- A Practitioner’s View of Institutional Corruption Through the Lens of the Health Care System, 2018, Author, https://law.emory.edu/ecgar/content/volume-5/issue-1/essays/practitioner-view-corruption-lens-health-care.html, Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review (Volume 5 Issue 1, 2018)
- Remote Advocacy: A Guide to Survive and Thrive, Chapter Co-author, Wolters Kluwer and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 2020
- The Whistleblowers in the White House, 2018, Author, http://www.jgspl.org/the-whistleblowers-in-the-white-house/, American University Journal of Gender Social Policy & the Law
- How Progressives in Law Talk to America, Author, American University Journal of Gender Social Policy & the Law, 2018
- At Issue: Should Congress Pass Legislation That Would Extend The Asbestos Hazard Energy Response Act To All Public and Commercial Buildings, Congressional Quarterly's Editorial Research Reports, 1990
- Medical Waste, Impact of OSHA Bloodbourne Disease Rule, 1992
- Environmental Management and Healthcare Facilities, The Occupational Health and Safety Administration: Guidance for Compliance, 1998
- The False Claims Act: Holding Employers Accountable for Workplace Rights, Employee Rights Quarterly, 2000
- Ethical Issues Involving Labor Unions and Class Actions, AFL-CIO Annual Attorneys Conference, 2000
- Litigating Large Scale Opt-In Actions Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, AFL-CIO Annual Attorneys Conference, 2000
- Inside the Minds: Winning Legal Strategies for Structuring Executive Compensation Plans, Executive Compensation Considerations, 2005
- The Interplay Between the False Claims Act, Securities Fraud, and ERISA, Taxpayers Against Fraud False Claims Act & Oui Tam Quarterly Review, 2005
- U.S. ex Rel Rodriguez v. Hughes, The Emory University Law School Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, 2010
- SEC v. HG Pharmaceutical, The Emory University Law School Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, 2010
- Pharmaceutical Regulation in the United States: A Confluence of Influences, was published in Chinese by the Peking University Public Interest Law Journal, Vol. 1, Page 187 (2010), Public Interest Law Journal, Peking University
- Gonzalez v. Hewitt, The Emory University Law School Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, 2010
- Are Federal Courts a Fair and Accessible Forum?, 2011, Moderator, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg4z7Hw0DzE, Emory Law School
- Debate on Tort Reform After Viewing of Documentary 'Hot Coffee', 2011, Moderator, Emory Law School
Verdicts/Settlements:
- Northwell Health, $12 million: GBB attorneys represented one of three whistleblowers in a False Claims Act suit against NY health network Northwell Health, Inc. and it’s subsidiary Lenox Hill Hospital. Whistleblowers alleged that Northwell and hospital Urologist David B. Samadi billed Federal Medicare programs in violation of multiple laws or regulations. Among the accusations were that Samadi and Northwell billed for medically unnecessary procedures, billed for overlapping surgeries, and over-compensated Samadi as an illegal reward for hospital referrals. Whistleblowers also claimed that Samadi left endoscopic procedures to be completed or attended by unsupervised medical students so that he could complete or supervise another patient’s procedure. Defendant’s behavior led to the submission of false claims to Medicare and ultimately millions of dollars in fraudulent government payments., 2019
- U.S. ex rel. Johnson v. Shell Oil Co., 33 F. Supp. 2d 528 (E.D. Tex. 1999)
- Amgen, Inc. et al.
- Celgene Corporation, $280 million: GBB recovered $280 million in a non-intervened False Claims Act case against Celgene Corporation on the eve of trial. The Complaint alleged that Celgene unlawfully marketed its drugs Thalomid and Revlimid, including for unsafe and ineffective uses, and subverted independent judgment of medical professionals through false and misleading promotion. The Complaint also alleged that Celgene paid kickbacks to medical professionals to prescribe and recommend Celgene’s drugs in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The settlement is the second largest in a non-intervened case brought under the False Claims Act., 2017
- Abbott Labs, $1.6 billion: GBB attorneys, in conjunction with state and federal governments, pursued claims against Abbot Laboratories, alleging that Abbot unlawfully marketed its anti-epileptic drug, Depakote, to children and nursing home patients. Their efforts on behalf of the lead whistleblower lead to a $1.6 billion recovery for federal and state governments, one of the largest recoveries under the False Claims Act in a pharmaceutical case involving a single drug, as well as the institution of a corporate integrity agreement that places compliance burdens on Abbott’s corporate management., 2016
- Humana Inc., $7 million: GBB attorneys contributed to a qui tam action alleging that defendant Michael Cavanaugh, a doctor at Plaza Medical Centers Corporation (PMC), over-diagnosed patients with illness or complications then fraudulently billed Medicare for services. Cavanaugh’s false Medicare claims led Medicare to increase monthly payments to Humana, Inc., a plan administrator, which would then distribute the funds to Cavanaugh and other defendants., 2018
- North Greenville University, $2.5 million: GBB attorneys pursued a False Claims Act suit against North Greenville University, alleging NGU illegally submitted student aid claims to the government after providing incentive compensation to student recruiters. Title IV of the Higher Education Act makes it a crime for higher education institutions which receive federal student aid money to provide recruiters with commissions, bonuses, or other forms of incentive compensation for recruiting new students. The complaint against NGU accusing of paying a recruitment company which it partially owned, Joined Inc., based on the number of new students their recruiters enrolled., 2019
- Oral Roberts University, $300,000: GBB attorneys brought this False Claims Act case against Oklahoma based ORU alleging that the university had fraudulently billed the Department of Education after violating the federal ban on incentive-based compensation. The whistleblower contended that ORU hired Shoe Inc., a student recruiting firm, then paid them with a portion of the tuitions of recruited students. Title IV of the higher education act prohibits any university receiving federal student aid from compensating recruiters based on the number of students successfully recruited. Maurice Shoe, the whistleblower and co-owner of Shoe, was awarded $45,000., 2019
- Hudson Valley Hematology Oncology Associates, $5.3 million: Firm attorneys brought a qui tam suit against Hudson Valley Hematology Oncology Associates (Hudson Valley), a New York based treatment center for patients with blood disorders and cancer. The complaint alleges that Hudson Valley illegally billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that were improperly documented and/or were not rendered. Hudson Valley was also accused of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute by waiving copayments and adding the waived fees to claims for Medicare reimbursement. The relator, a former billing department employee at Hudson Valley, received between 10-25% of the funds recovered for the government. Hudson Valley also entered into a corporate integrity agreement as part of the settlement., 2016
- Biogen Inc. and Advanced Care Scripts Inc., $23.4 million: GBB attorneys settled this qui tam suit against Advanced Care Scripts and Biogen, one of the worlds’ largest pharmaceutical companies. The complaint, filed by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act, alleged that Defendants used charitable organizations in a kickback scheme to pay the Medicare copays for multiple sclerosis drugs Avonex and Tysabri. Medicare subsequently paid the claims for these drugs, which can cost as much $80,000 per patient per year., 2020
Industry Groups:
- Nuclear
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