A qui tam lawyer is a unique legal professional experienced enough to handle a unique type of lawsuit. Most lawyers focus on particular types of law or litigating certain types of lawsuits, and qui tam lawyers are no different. Therefore, if you’re thinking about starting your whistleblower lawsuit and need a lawyer, you’re best off hiring a qui tam attorney.
Qui Tam Lawsuits Are Unique
Qui tam lawsuits are special, not just because of the legal issues, but the procedural rules and processes. For example, unlike most lawsuits where the individual can choose to represent themselves pro se, there is no pro se option for qui tam lawsuits. This is due to the underlying basis of a qui tam lawsuit – the whistleblower is suing a defendant on behalf of the government. Understandably, the government doesn’t want a non-lawyer handling a lawsuit that’s potentially worth a lot of money.
Because a whistleblower must hire an attorney, they may try to save money by finding someone who’s not familiar with qui tam litigation. This is a very unwise thing to do. In certain areas of the law, lawyers can take on cases new to them; that’s because the lawyers are only required to learn new law. Most of the other court rules and procedures remain the same. This means the attorney can dabble in an unfamiliar area of the law and still provide high-quality legal services.
For lawyers who don’t normally practice qui tam law, they must not only learn a new type of law, but court rules and procedures, too. While some lawyers may be able to learn the law and court rules necessary to successfully present a client in a qui tam lawsuit, they will need to do a lot of “learning on the fly.” This results in the lawyer not being able to provide the best possible legal representation possible. If a whistleblower chooses an attorney that has to learn on the fly, they’re almost assured a lower quality of legal assistance than if the whistleblower hired an attorney who specifically handles qui tam cases.
Other Reasons a Qui Tam Lawyer Should Handle Your Case
Because many qui tam lawsuits take years to complete, potential whistleblowers must find a lawyer who has the resources and patience to see a case through for decades. Most lawsuits don’t last that long, but a qui tam lawsuit taking several years to complete is quite common. A qui tam lawyer understands this and will, therefore, have the resources and ability to pursue the case for the long haul.
A second reason for using a qui tam lawyer to handle your case is their relationship with the government. Since getting the government to take on your case is so important for its chances of success, it’s nice to hire an attorney who can communicate effectively with the government officials who will decide whether to take on the case for the government.
A good relationship will also be useful should the government choose to take on your case. This is because even though the government will take a lead role once they decide to “intervene,” they will need your assistance and cooperation for the majority of the lawsuit. Having a qui tam lawyer will make this cooperation as smooth and effective as possible.
A third reason to look for a qui tam lawyer is that they’re more able to assess the chances of success. As mentioned previously, qui tam lawsuits can take a long time. Add the fact that one of the major motivations for starting a qui tam lawsuit is the reward, and it’s easy to understand how accurately predicting the success of a lawsuit is very useful.
While no lawyer can predict the outcome of a lawsuit with 100% accuracy (and in fact, the professional and ethical rules usually prohibit lawyers from making definite predictions), a lawyer who works in the qui tam area of law can provide a clearer picture regarding what to expect and the chances of success.
A fourth reason to choose a qui tam lawyer is for their help with gathering evidence. Due to their experience with qui tam lawsuits, they can provide the best advice when it comes to gathering additional documents and information to help your case and allow the government to fully investigate the fraud.
Need a Qui Tam Lawyer?
If you think you may have a qui tam lawsuit, you’re going to need a qui tam lawyer. You can find one by contacting our skilled attorneys at Bothwell Law Group by calling 770-643-1606 now.
