Federal Judge Sanctions Kirkland Ellis and Skadden Arps for Misconduct in Georgia Healthcare Fraud Case
U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell of the federal court in Macon, Georgia, has ordered two prominent law firms, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, to pay $2 million to fund legal ethics education in Georgia's accredited law schools. This sanction stems from their attorneys' conduct in a healthcare fraud lawsuit against eClinicalWorks LLC (eCW). Judge Treadwell found that attorneys Richard Bernardo of Skadden and Geoffrey Wyatt of Kirkland & Ellis made false representations and engaged in a 'widespread, long-running cover-up' to conceal evidence. The $2 million penalty is in addition to over $1.5 million in legal fees and expenses eCW's client was already compelled to pay for concealing evidence. The underlying lawsuit, brought by three Macon-based IT specialists under the federal False Claims Act, alleged that eCW fraudulently obtained federal certification for its electronic health record software by hiding critical security vulnerabilities and defects, leading to false ... 
