On October 20, 2015, HB Litigation sponsored an all-day conference in Philadelphia addressing the most pressing litigation and regulatory issues facing the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. Attending the conference were some of the most respected law firms in the country, officials from the Food & Drug Administration, and senior in-house counsel for some of the world’s largest life sciences companies, including Merck, Johnson & Johnson, GE Healthcare, and Eli Lilly & Co. Conference program brochure.
Miller Friel’s managing partner, Brian Friel, led the insurance panel discussion, “Insurance Coverage for Government Investigations.” In Brian’s presentation, he focused on the critical issues involved in identifying when a government investigation triggers a company’s obligations to provide claim notice to its insurers, navigating around the key exclusions in D&O policies, and best practices to secure insurance to cover the exceedingly expensive attorneys’ fees associated with responding to and defending government investigations involving the False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and similar federal and state laws.
As pharmaceutical, medical device and other major companies have experienced first-hand, there has been a steady increase over the past few years in FCA and FCPA government investigations and related litigation, and the associated legal costs have exploded. The numbers are staggering – Wal-Mart incurring over $600 million in attorneys’ fees and costs responding to FCPA charges, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer each paying well over $2 billion to settle FCA and related claims.
For most companies, insurance is a critical source of funding to help cover the costs of these claims. If your company is involved in a government investigation, by way of a formal order of investigation, a subpoena, a Civil Investigative Demand, or the like, please contact Brian or one of Miller Friel’s other insurance recovery lawyers.
Miller Friel, PLLC is a specialized insurance coverage law firm whose sole purpose is to help corporate clients maximize their insurance coverage. Our Focus of exclusively representing policyholders, combined with our extensive Experience in the area of insurance law, leads to greater efficiency, lower costs and better Results. Further discussion and analysis of insurance coverage issues impacting policyholders can be found in our Miller Friel Insurance Coverage Blog and our 7 Tips for Maximizing Coverage series. For additional information about this post, please email or call Brian Friel (FrielB@millerfriel.com or 202-760-3162).