McKool Smith Launches Whistleblower Litigation Practice with Joining of Rushforth and Rennert

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- McKool Smith, one of America's leading trial firms, announced the joining of prominent qui tam litigators Brent Rushforth and Stuart Rennert. The expansion marks the launch of the firm's whistleblower litigation practice, which focuses on representing individuals and companies who blow the whistle on fraud committed against the government.

Both Rushforth and Rennert are based in McKool Smith's Washington, DC, office. They will be joined by experienced qui tam litigators, including Senior Counsel Doreen Klein and associate David Schiefelbein, who are based in the firm's New York office.

Mr. Rushforth served as Deputy General Counsel of the United Stated Department of Defense, and is a former Chairman of the Center for Law in the Public Interest (Los Angeles). Mr. Rennert has focused his practice for more than a decade on representing whistleblowers and governmental entities in high stakes False Claims Act litigation, and has successfully tried such cases to verdict. Previous to that, he served for three years in the United States Department of Justice, helping lead a team of lawyers in the United States' civil RICO enforcement action against the cigarette industry.

"Brent Rushforth and Stuart Rennert are remarkable attorneys with an impressive track record in qui tam matters, and decades of experience handling commercial litigation and government investigations," said Co-founder and Chairman Mike McKool. "Their talents and expertise will be extremely valuable to our clients as we launch our whistleblower litigation practice, and continue to expand our white collar and commercial litigation capabilities.

"McKool Smith is a serious trial firm," said Brent Rushforth. "The firm is formidable on both the plaintiff and defense side, and has a history of litigating against financial institutions. This provides an ideal platform to build our whistleblower litigation practice."

"McKool Smith has a national reputation for securing big wins in high-profile litigation," added Stuart Rennert. "We look forward to joining such a distinguished group of trial lawyers."

With more than 170 litigators across offices in California, New York, Texas, and Washington, DC, McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America's leading trial firms. The firm has won more National Law Journal and VerdictSearch "Top 100 Verdicts" over the last five years than any other law firm. McKool Smith represents leading clients across a broad range of practice areas, including complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense.

For more information, please contact Diane Iselin at 212-402-9486 or [email protected].

SOURCE McKool Smith