Katherine A. Lauer

Katherine A. Lauer is a partner in the firm's San Diego office and is a Global Co-chair of the firm's Health Care and Life Sciences Practice Group. Ms. Lauer focuses her practice on healthcare litigation, with emphasis on healthcare fraud defense. She has defended some of the country's largest and most high-profile civil and criminal government healthcare fraud investigations and qui tam cases, representing such clients as HCA (formerly Columbia/HCA), Tenet Healthcare, Catholic Healthcare West and University Hospitals Health System of Cleveland. Ms. Lauer has repeatedly been recognized by Nightingale's Healthcare News as one of the country's top healthcare attorneys – in 2004 as an "Outstanding Fraud and Compliance Lawyer" and in 2006 as an “Outstanding Healthcare Litigator.”

Ms. Lauer has extensive expertise in the federal Anti-kickback Statute, the Stark Laws and the federal False Claims Act, as well as cost reporting and other reimbursement issues. She advises a wide array of healthcare industry clients on issues related to pharmaceutical and medical device marketing, the structure and formation of joint ventures and other corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. She also has particular expertise in the design and implementation compliance programs, and has structured and conducted many internal investigations and compliance audits.

Ms. Lauer is the immediate past Co-Chair of the Health Law Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. She is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the Healthcare and Government Contracts section of the Federal Bar Association, and the California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, where she serves on the Publications Committee. Ms. Lauer is a Barrister in the William Enright Chapter of the American Inns of Court and a member of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Ms. Lauer speaks regularly on healthcare topics at premier national conferences. Ms. Lauer's speaking engagements during the past several years include:

• The Fair Market Value Defense in Health Care Fraud Investigations – 2008 Health Care Compliance Association Annual Meeting
• Fair Market Value for Legitimate Services: Defending Against Accusations the Payments to Consultants are Improper Remuneration – 2008 ACI's 8^th National Forum on Fraud & Abuse in the Sales and Marketing of Drugs
• Health Care Panel – 2008 American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime
• Financial Arrangements Between Hospitals and Referral Sources: Stark Regulatory Update – 2008 Healthcare Financial Management Association Region 11 Symposium
• Financial Arrangements Between Hospitals and Referral Sources:Stark and the Anti-kickback Statute – 2007 San Diego Bar Association Law & Medicine Committee
• "Negotiating False Claims Act Settlements and Living Under A CIA," 2007 American Bar Association National Institute on Health Care Fraud
• "The Fair Market Value Defense in Health Care Fraud Investigations," 2007 Health Care Compliance Association Annual Meeting
• "Overview of the Anti-kickback Statute and the Stark Law, " 2007 Health Care Compliance Association Annual Meeting
• "What Corporate Counsel Needs to Know About Internal Investigations, But Is Afraid To Ask," 2007 American Bar Association Section of Litigation Annual Conference
• "Assessing Your Options Once A Government Investigation is Initiated – It's not Necessarily Time to Throw in the Towel," 2007 ACI Government Investigation Preparedness for Pharma Conference
• Keynote Panel on Enforcement Activities, 2006 Health Care Compliance Association/American Health Lawyers Association Fraud and Compliance Institute
• "Lessons Learned from US v. Weinbaum (the Alvarado Hospital criminal kickback trial)," 2006 Health Care Compliance Association/American Health Lawyers Association Fraud and Compliance Institute
• "Stark Law Developments," 2006 Health Care Compliance Association Western Regional Conference
• "Anti-kickback and Stark Panel," Fair Market Value Workshop, 2006 American Bar Association National Institute on Health Care Fraud
• Health Care Panel, 2006 America Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime
• "Ten Things You Always Wanted to Know About Internal Investigations But Were Afraid to Ask," 2006 American Health Lawyers Association Teleconference
• "The Defense Perspective on How the Government Tries Kickback Cases," 2005 Health Care Compliance Association/American Health Lawyers Association Fraud and Compliance Forum
• Healthcare Panel, 2004 American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime
• "Living with Stark and the Anti-Kickback Statute after Thompson," 2003 Health Care Compliance Association/American Health Lawyers Association Fraud and Compliance Forum
• "The Implications of Enforcement Litigation," 2003 Health Industry Group Purchasing Association National Pharmacy Forum
• "Stark Enforcement," 2002 American Bar Association National Institute on Health Care Fraud
• "Handling the Complex Fraud Litigation Matter," 2001 Association of Independent Certified Public Accountants Fraud Conference
• "The Kickback Implications of Conflicts of Interest," 2001 Healthcare Financial Management Association Annual Meeting
• "Defensive Strategies in Pharmaceutical Fraud Investigations," 2001 Health Care Compliance Association Pharmacy Conference

Ms. Lauer's publications include:

• "Welcome to the Field of Healthcare Fraud Defense: Where Nothing is Static and “Victory” is Hard to Define" (ABA 2008)
• "The Real Good News From GEICO: Reasonable Negotiations Negate Scienter Under the False Claims Act" (Andrews Litigation Reporter, November 2007)
• "Negotiating CIA's: It's the Little Things that Matter" (ABA 2007)
• "Erin Brockovich's Foray Into Healthcare: Stretching the Medicare Secondary Payer Act to the Limit "(California Health Law News, Spring 2007)
• "Defending Pharmaceutical Fraud Investigations: Assessing Strategic Options" (ABA Health Law Litigation Committee Newsletter, Spring 2007)
• "Joint Venture Imaging Centers: Identifying Compliance Issues and Structural Considerations" (CCH Health Care Compliance Letter 2006)
• "Stark Naked: The Open Letter Disrobes the Fundamental Flaw in the Tainted Claims Theory of Damages In FCA Cases Based on Stark Law Violations" (ABA 2006)
• "Ten Things You Wanted to Know About Internal Investigations But Were Afraid to Ask" (American Health Lawyers News 2006)
• "Question: To What Extent Did the 2004 Acquittals in the TAP Case Affect the Government's Zeal for Investigating and Prosecuting Health Care Fraud and Abuse Matters in 2005?  Answer:  Not At All" (ABA 2006)
• "Establishing Intent to Violate the Anti-kickback Statute: Rethinking the 'One Purpose' Test" (ABA 2006)
• "Federalizing Quality of Care: New Frontiers In Enforcement" (ABA 2005)
• "California Law Requires Pharmaceutical Companies to Implement Compliance Programs by July 1, 2005" (Golden Triangle News 2005)
• "Using the Ambiguity Defense to Negate Falsity and Scienter in Healthcare Fraud Prosecutions" (ABA 2004)
• "Square Pegs and Round Holes: Violations of Healthcare Statutes and Regulations As False Claims" (ABA 2004)
• "Show Me The Money:  Proving Damages In False Claims Act Litigation Based On Illegal Referral Arrangements" (American Health Lawyers Association 2003)
• "Anti-kickback Act Violations as False Claims: Not Yet Time For Unconditional Surrender" (ABA 2003)
• "Through the Glass Starkly: Murky Statutes and Unfair Enforcement" (ABA 2002)
• The chapter "Physician Financial Relationships: Auditing and Monitoring Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Compliance in the monograph Monitoring & Auditing Practices for Effective Compliance" (HCCA 2002)
• "Pharmaceutical Industry Business Practices Attracting Government Attention" (PhRMA 2001)
• "It's Not That Easy: Why Extrapolation is Inappropriate In the False Claims Act Context" (AICPA 2001)
• "Conflicts of Interest: The Anti-Kickback Act Implications of Business Relationships" (Healthcare Financial Management Association 2001)
• "Tilting at Windfalls: Rejecting the Tainted Claims Theory of Damages in False Claims Act Cases" (ABA 2001)
• "Equipment and Space Rentals" (BNA Healthcare Compliance Manual 2000)
• "Is There Any 'There' There? Damages and Penalties in False Claims Act Litigation Based on Anti-Kickback and Stark Violations" (Georgetown Health Care Fraud Annual Program 2000)

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