Robert Rhoad is a partner in the Government Contracts, Investigations & International Trade Practice Group in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.
Mr. Rhoad is a trial lawyer with over 20 years of experience and his primary area of focus is complex litigation involving the federal False Claims Act, state false claims laws, fraud and abuse matters, and criminal and civil government enforcement actions initiated by qui tam relators (whistleblowers) and/or brought by federal and state governmental authorities. In recognition of his success, among other accolades, Mr. Rhoad has been listed as a Washington, D.C. "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers® in the Civil Litigation category and as a "Top Lawyer" by Washingtonian magazine in the Whistleblower Defense category – one of only six attorneys so designated.
In addition to representing government contractors and healthcare entities as defendants in national litigation, Mr. Rhoad has significant experience in the successful representation of healthcare industry clients as plaintiffs in affirmative litigation to recover damages suffered due to anticompetitive conduct, as well as the fraudulent marketing and sales of defective pharmaceuticals and medical devices by manufacturers. His recoveries for clients in such cases to date range in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Since 2002, Mr. Rhoad has taught litigation and trial courses as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School. He has also presented at numerous national conferences and has published scores of articles over the years. In 2015, he was the recipient of the prestigious Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing. Mr. Rhoad also currently serves as the co-chair of the American Bar Association Health Law Section's Ethics and Professionalism Committee and is vice chair of its Health e-Source Editorial Board.
Prior to entering private practice in 1999, Mr. Rhoad served for nearly six years as an attorney/officer in Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps in successive assignments as prosecutor, defense counsel, and civil litigation attorney. As both a prosecutor and defense counsel, Mr. Rhoad gained significant trial experience as lead counsel in numerous felony cases involving complex fraud issues. As a civil litigation attorney, he served as lead agency counsel for the Department of the Navy working with U.S. Attorney Offices throughout the country in the litigation and trial of cases on behalf of the Department of the Navy. He attained the rank of lieutenant commander and received numerous awards and commendations for his service as a Navy judge advocate and with the federal government.
