Emma R. Cecil, Counsel, Polsinelli to Speak at TKG's Event

Feb. 1, 2017 - PRLog -- The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that Emma R. Cecil, Counsel, Polsinelli will speak at the Knowledge Congress' webcast entitled: "False Claims Act Landscape for 2017: Going Beyond the Horizons LIVE Webcast". This event is scheduled for February 8, 2017 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm (ET).

For further details, please visit:

https://theknowledgegroup.org/event-homepage/?event_id=2144

About Emma R. Cecil

Emma Cecil focuses her practice on health care litigation, False Claims Act defense, and white collar defense and government investigations. Emma regularly represents both individual and corporate healthcare clients in False Claims Act litigation; internal and government investigations; administrative actions and appeals involving provider suspensions, exclusions, and debarment; licensing board and regulatory agency investigations and proceedings; and complex commercial and business disputes. In addition to her healthcare practice, Emma has extensive experience representing individuals in all phases of white collar criminal matters, including grand jury proceedings, pre-indictment investigations, plea negotiations, and federal sentencings. Emma also represents registered investment advisors, financial professionals, and other individuals in the defense of SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement actions, including those involving insider trading.

Emma received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her law degree from the University of Denver, where she graduated in the top 5% of her class and was admitted to the Order of St. Ives for excellence in academic achievement. Emma began her legal career practicing environmental and natural resources law in Colorado, and clerked for the Honorable Stanley F. Birch, Jr. of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals after moving to Atlanta. She also served as a Staff Attorney for the Eleventh Circuit, where she was selected to evaluate and present substantive motions to the Court as a member of a specialized unit of the Staff Attorney's Office. Emma practiced white collar defense and health care law at a litigation firm in Atlanta before joining Polsineilli in August 2015.

About Polsinelli

Polsinelli is an Am Law 100 firm with more than 800 attorneys in 20 offices, serving corporations, institutions, and entrepreneurs nationally. Ranked in the top five percent of law firms for client service, the firm has risen more than 50 spots in Am Law's annual firm ranking over the past five years. Polsinelli attorneys provide practical legal counsel infused with business insight, and focus on health care, financial services, real estate, intellectual property, mid-market corporate, and business litigation. Polsinelli attorneys have depth of experience in 100 service areas and 70 industries.

Event Synopsis:

Since 1986, the FCA has been the Justice Department's primary tool for recovering large sums of money obtained through alleged fraud on the federal fisc. And, it has proven to be a very effective tool, as the Justice Department's annual statistics show. In fiscal year 2016, for example, the Justice Department experienced its fourth consecutive year of FCA-related recoveries exceeding $3.5 billion.

Of note is the FCA's role in recovering billions of dollars in cases related to the health care industry.  Of the federal government's $4.7 billion fiscal year 2016 recoveries, $2.5 billion came from the health care industry.  For seven consecutive years, the Justice Department has reported recoveries from the health care industry exceeding $2 billion.  However, the health care industry is not the only target for FCA suits.  Nor is what many would view as typical "government contractors."  Rather, companies and individuals involved with health care, defense and national security, federally insured loans and mortgages, highway funds, construction, food safety and inspection, agricultural subsidies, education, disaster assistance, import tariffs, and more find themselves facing FCA allegations.

Moreover, under the FCA, a private individual (called a "relator" or "whistleblower") may initiate an action on behalf of the government.  Since that individual generally is eligible for 15 to 30 percent of the amount recovered by the government, the number of such suits (called "qui tam" actions) also have held strong over the last few years, with 702 qui tam actions being initiated in fiscal year 2016.

What these latest statistics tell us is that FCA suits are not going away any time soon, and our panel of key thought leaders and practitioners brought together by The Knowledge Group will discuss not only FCA fundamentals but also the latest issues surrounding the FCA. This LIVE webcast aims to help you become well-versed in the FCA, its trends, and the latest developments.

Some of the major topics that will be covered in this course are:

• An Overview of the FCA
• The Justice Department's Fiscal Year 2016 Statistics
• The False Claims Act in 2017: Trends and Developments to Watch
• The "Implied Certification" Theory of Liability and United States ex rel. Escobar v. Universal Health Services
• Other Recent Supreme Court Activity

About The Knowledge Group, LLC/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series

The Knowledge Group was established with the mission to produce unbiased, objective, and educational live webinars that examine industry trends and regulatory changes from a variety of different perspectives. The goal is to deliver a unique multilevel analysis of an important issue affecting business in a highly focused format. To contact or register to an event, please visit: http://theknowledgegroup.org