2 BigLaw firms fined $2M, accused of helping client make false statements
U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell of the Middle District of Georgia said two law firm partners repeatedly relied on an expert witness for their client, despite knowing that the witness gave false testimony. (Photo by Getty Images)
Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom have agreed to pay $2 million in sanctions amid accusations that they helped a client hide records and make false statements, according to Reuters.
U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell of the Middle District of Georgia said Skadden partner Richard Bernardo and Kirkland partner Geoffrey Wyatt repeatedly relied on an expert witness for their client, electronic health records vendor eClinicalWorks, despite knowing that he gave false testimony.
Bernardo and Wyatt did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, nor did spokespeople for their law firms.
Treadwell had sanctioned eClinicalWorks multiple times for withholding evidence in the lawsuit, which in part accused the firm of false claims that allowed medical providers to obtain larger Medicare reimbursements from the government than they otherwise would have. Denying the claims in the suit, eClinicalWorks later settled the case.
The money from the firms’ fines will be used to promote “instruction on the subjects of ethics and professionalism in Georgia’s accredited law schools,” Treadwell said in an order Wednesday.
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