James B. Helmer Jr. Presented National Webinar On the False Claims Act
On September 16, 2015, Helmer Martins partner James B. Helmer, Jr. participated in a webinar with Bloomberg BNA entitled “False Claims Act Recent Developments.” Presenting the seminar with Mr. Helmer was Joseph E. B. “Jeb” White, a partner with the law firm, Nolan, Auerbach & White, P.A. In the fast-paced False Claims Act world, the stakes are high and the law is constantly shifting. Mr. Helmer and Mr. White addressed recent important cases and newly developing trends.
Mr. Helmer is Senior Partner and President of the Cincinnati office of Helmer, Martins, Rice & Popham. See his profile for more information. Approximately two thirds of his practice, which is exclusively devoted to litigation, involves the representation of employees blowing the whistle on fraudulent Government contractors. Mr. Helmer has obtained several multi-million dollar jury verdicts and has been trial counsel in over 300 published legal decisions. His False Claims Act cases have returned over $1 Billion to the taxpayers and have resulted in 15 criminal indictments. Mr. Helmer is author of Bloomberg BNA’s False Claims Act: Whistleblower Litigation, Sixth Edition, with 2014 Supplement and co-author of Representing the Terminated Employee in Ohio (2d ed. Anderson 1997).
In 1985 and 1986, Mr. Helmer’s testimony before the House of Representatives and the United States Senate was pivotal in the 1986 Amendments to the False Claims Act. Congress and President Reagan accepted all of the suggestions Mr. Helmer made for modernizing the statute which has become known as the government’s primary weapon against fraud on the taxpayers. In 2008, he argued Allison Engine Co. v. United States ex re. Sanders before the United States Supreme Court against former Solicitor General Theodore Olson. The Supreme Court ruled by a 9-0 decision in favor of Helmer’s client but then interpreted the False Claims Act in a restrictive manner. As a result, Mr. Helmer returned to testify before two Congressional Committees in 2008 concerning the clarification of the False Claims Act. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Amendments championed by Mr. Helmer and President Obama signed them into law on May 20, 2009 – Mr. Helmer’s birthday.
