Distinguished former federal prosecutor Richard H. Blake joins the White Collar and Government Compliance Practice Group at McDonald Hopkins law firm

CLEVELAND, Aug. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Richard H. Blake, who served as a federal prosecutor with both the Department of Justice and Department of Treasury for nearly 20 years and most recently was a partner at Bricker & Eckler LLP, has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as a member and co-chair of the firm's White Collar and Government Compliance Practice Group. He will be based in the Cleveland office.

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Blake's impressive experience includes successfully representing public officials in high profile corruption cases, such as the first public official to be acquitted of all corruption charges in the federal government's Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation. He has represented numerous organizations and individuals in federal qui tam and criminal investigations. In addition, Blake has conducted internal investigations for government entities, hospitals and private companies.

As a federal prosecutor, Blake served in the Department of Justice as Assistant United States Attorney and in the Department of Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as a senior enforcement attorney. Blake was the first federal prosecutor hired by the Justice Department to exclusively prosecute federal qui tam and civil false claims cases in the Northern District of Ohio, specializing in health care and defense procurement fraud.

While at the Justice Department, Blake also worked in the Organized Crime Strike Force and the Economic Crimes units. He was honored with the 2006 President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency Award following his successful prosecution of a defense subcontractor who provided defective components to the Navy for use on nuclear submarines.

"Richard Blake has an outstanding background and wide ranging experience defending companies and individuals in complicated criminal and civil white collar crime matters," said William J. O'Neill, chair of the Litigation Department at McDonald Hopkins. "We are especially pleased that Richard has joined our firm at a time when businesses are under heightened scrutiny. His extensive knowledge in the healthcare industry is a natural fit for our firm, which has a prominent healthcare practice. Richard also has considerable experience in public corruption, securities and banking, environmental, and other business issues."

At McDonald Hopkins, Blake is working with a highly skilled legal team including Bruce Reinhart, co-chair of the firm's White Collar and Government Compliance Practice Group. Reinhart is a nationally recognized trial attorney and former federal prosecutor who is based in the firm's South Florida offices in Miami and West Palm Beach.

Blake is a frequent nationwide lecturer on a variety of topics, such as qui tam whistleblower and civil false claims cases, Stark and anti-kickback issues, internal investigations, and compliance strategies. He has also trained FBI agents on investigative methods related to health care fraud investigations.   

Blake received his J.D. degree in 1988 from St. John's University and his B.B.A. degree from the City University of New York's Baruch College in 1984. He can be reached at 216.348.5839 or [email protected].

About McDonald Hopkins
McDonald Hopkins is a business advisory and advocacy law firm with a more than 80-year history. The firm has offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Miami and West Palm Beach. The president of McDonald Hopkins is Carl J. Grassi. For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com.

Contact:
Deborah W. Kelm
McDonald Hopkins LLC
600 Superior Avenue, East, Suite 2100
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Phone: 216.348.5733
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE McDonald Hopkins LLC