Whistleblower Insider Blog

Constantine Cannon Opens San Francisco Office With Whistleblower Lawyer Heavyweights

In a further expansion of its rapidly growing Whistleblower Practice, Constantine Cannon announced today the opening of an office in San Francisco, and that well-known Bay Area qui tam whistleblower lawyers Eric Havian, Wayne T. Lamprey and Anne Hayes Hartman will be joining the firm. Havian, founding partner of the San Francisco office of prominent whistleblower law firm Phillips & Cohen, is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and one of the most experienced qui tam whistleblower attorneys in the nation. He acted as lead counsel in cases that recovered over $1.2 billion for government agencies and resulted in awards to his whistleblower clients of over $200 million, including several of the largest False Claims Act settlements in history. In recent years he has been named a Top 10 “Winning Attorney” by National Law Journal and “Attorney of the Year” by California Lawyer. Lamprey as well has long experience in the field, both as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and in the private sector. Whistleblower actions where he was lead counsel have recovered more than $275 million for the government, including two of the largest recoveries under the California False Claims Act. Havian and Lamprey are joined in Constantine Cannon’s San Francisco office by Anne Hayes Hartman, who has extensive experience in complex litigation and qui tam actions in the health care, defense, natural resources and financial industries. Full biographies of the new Constantine Cannon whistleblower attorneys follow. The opening of its San Francisco office continues Constantine Cannon’s expansion in both the Whistleblower and Antitrust arenas. In addition to its Whistleblower Practice, the firm is among the largest, most well known antitrust law firms in the United States, responsible for two of the largest antitrust settlements in history. The firm also will be expanding its antitrust practice on the West Coast. In 2013, the firm opened an office in London to complement its established offices in New York and Washington. The firm also practices in areas that include Commercial Litigation, Government Relations, Intellectual Property & Technology, and Art & Cultural Property. “We are pleased to welcome such highly-regarded attorneys in the field of whistleblower law to our firm,” said Richard Aborn, Constantine Cannon’s Managing Partner. “Eric, Wayne, and Anne are perfectly suited to complement our existing whistleblower practice as we continue our growth and success.” Gordon Schnell, who founded Constantine Cannon’s Whistleblower Practice, said: “We are very excited to have Eric, Wayne and Anne join our whistleblower lawyer team. With their exceptional experience and track record, we will be well situated to increase the scope and breadth of our ever-expanding practice in this exciting and important area of the law." Havian said “Constantine Cannon has a demonstrated commitment to pursuing claims against the largest of adversaries, which can be critical in False Claims actions.”  Lamprey added that Constantine Cannon has “an extraordinary history of success in antitrust, and we look forward to being a part of their Whistleblower Practice and working with an exceptional pool of talent.” ABOUT THE NEW LAWYERS Eric R. Havian Havian has more than 20 years of experience representing whistleblowers under the False-Claims Act, Dodd-Frank, and other federal and state whistleblower laws. Most recently, he was lead counsel in a qui tam case against DaVita HealthCare Partners, resulting in one of the largest kickback settlements in history (more than $400 million) and also one of the largest awards to a single whistleblower in history (more than $65 million). In addition to the DaVita case, Mr. Havian was lead counsel in two other cases that settled in the past 18 months for $68 million (whistleblower award of $23 million) and $22.5 million (award to be determined). Among his other notable whistleblower victories was the $325 million settlement he secured against Northrop Grumman, the largest qui tam False Claims Act settlement from a defense contractor. Havian joins Constantine Cannon from national whistleblower law firm, Phillips & Cohen, where he served as the founding partner of the San Francisco office. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the San Francisco Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1987 through 1994. Havian received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1981 and his B.A. from Stanford University in 1977. Wayne T. Lamprey Mr. Lamprey joins Constantine Cannon from San Francisco-based firm Goodin, MacBride, Squeri, Day & Lamprey, where he founded the firm’s False Claims Act practice group. Lamprey was lead counsel in whistleblower actions that resulted in recoveries in excess of $275 million. He has tried both civil and criminal False Claim actions, and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California’s Criminal Division from 1991 through 1997. Lamprey received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 1980 and his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1977. Anne Hayes Hartman Ms. Hartman also joins Constantine Cannon from San Francisco-based firm, Goodin, MacBride, Squeri, Day & Lamprey. Hartman represented whistleblowers in False Claims Act actions and qui tam cases, as well as clients in complex commercial litigation, including class actions, consumer rights, and antitrust matters. Hartman received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and her M.P.P. from the University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy in 1996. She received her B.A. from Columbia University in 1990.