WASHINGTON, DC – The National Law Journal has named Phillips & Cohen LLP to the prestigious “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” for 2012 in recognition of the law firm’s success in whistleblower cases.
Phillips & Cohen is one of only 19 law firms chosen for the annual “Hot List.” The National Law Journal said it selected top law firms that have done “exemplary, cutting-edge work on the plaintiffs side” and “that possessed an impressive track record of wins within the past three to five years.”
Phillips & Cohen has been selected for the “Hot List” list five times based on its success in whistleblower cases: 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010 and now 2012.
For the 2012 “Hot List,” The National Law Journal noted Phillips & Cohen’s work representing two whistleblowers in a “qui tam” case against GlaxoSmithKline that was a major piece of Glaxo’s record-setting $3 billion settlement in July. (“qui tam” case against GlaxoSmithKline.)
Phillips & Cohen partner Erika A. Kelton, the article said, “acknowledged that the [Glaxo] case was ‘somewhat risky,’ but after recognizing the value of its two whistleblower clients’ information, the firm poured resources into it, renting an apartment in Boston, where the case was being litigated, and filling it with attorneys, paralegals and office equipment.”
The National Law Journal also highlighted Phillips & Cohen’s qui tam case against defense contractor ATK Launch Systems Inc., which settled for $37 million. The settlement included retrofitting 76,000 defective military flares that put military personnel at serious risk of death or injury if the flares were accidentally dropped while being handled or in transit.
Another outstanding result achieved by Phillips & Cohen in the past year was a court ruling that increased a whistleblower client’s reward from 15 percent of the recovery to 20 percent – an increase of almost $5 million, from $13.7 million to $18.4 million. The reward was for a qui tam case against Verizon that settled in 2011 for $96 million.