Author: JGL Law

Jay Holland, Veronica Nannis and Gia Grimm highlight a number of standout False Claims Act (FCA) settlements that were announced in late 2023 and so far in 2024 in the Winter 2025 issue of Turning Square Corners, the newsletter of the Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Section. The lawyers note that, as usual, the largest FCA settlements were in the healthcare space, and kickback allegations continue to dominate these cases.

Continue reading the article “2024 False Claims Act Settlements and Judgment Record-breaking Year: The Standout” on p. 16-18 in the Turning Square Corners newsletter.

Lindsay Parvis named to state’s Top 100 Super Lawyers list and Top 50 Women Super Lawyers list

Super Lawyers has named 12 attorneys from JGL’s Maryland offices to its 2025 Maryland Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. In addition, Lindsay Parvis was named to the Top 100 Super Lawyers list in Maryland and the Top 50 Women Super Lawyers list in Maryland.

Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers in over 70 practice areas, who have achieved a high degree of professional achievement and peer recognition. The annual selection process combines independent research, peer nominations and evaluations, with no more than five percent of each state’s attorneys named to the Super Lawyers list and no more than 2.5 percent named to the Rising Stars list.

The following attorneys were named to the 2025 Super Lawyers list:

Greenbelt, MD

• Jay P. Holland – Employment & Labor
• Timothy F. Maloney – General Litigation
• Veronica B. Nannis – Civil Litigation: Plaintiff
• Steven M. Pavsner – Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff

Rockville, MD

• David M. Bulitt – Family Law
• Jeffrey N. Greenblatt – Family Law
• Lindsay Parvis – Family Law

The following attorneys were named to the 2025 Super Lawyers Rising Stars list:

Rising Stars

• Bridget Cardinale – Civil Litigation: Plaintiff
• Christopher R. Castellano – Family Law
• Virginia B. Grimm – Employment & Labor
• Alyse Prawde – Civil Litigation: Plaintiff

In an article published on December 11, 2024, by Corporate Compliance Insights, Brian Markovitz was quoted as an expert source regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete clauses in employment contracts.

The year-in-review article, which focuses on regulatory uncertainty, technological disruption and changing enforcement priorities, taps various experts to share their thoughts on 2024 and provide insight about what’s to come in 2025.

One of the many developments this past year was a decision from a federal judge in Texas who ruled that the FTC’s ban on noncompete clauses in most employment contracts was unconstitutional and could not be enforced. The decision was issued only a few weeks before the ban was set to take effect.

Considering the results of the 2024 election and a Republican-led Congress, Brian does not expect the noncompete ban to last. “To the extent the FTC’s ban had a difficult path before the election with the Supreme Court most likely against it, the ban is now dead,” he said. “I expect revocation of the ban will be one of the first actions taken by the FTC in 2025 under the new administration.”

Read the article “Top Stories of 2024” on the Corporate Compliance Insights website.

In an article published in the Anti-Corruption Report on December 4, 2024, Veronica discusses the DOJ’s focus on cybersecurity fraud and the agency’s efforts to pursue alleged offenders in unprecedented ways. Veronica summarizes the DOJ’s efforts since 2021, including recent investigations, settlements and litigations, and discusses what cybersecurity contractors should do both to maintain compliance and avoid costly cyber-fraud investigations.

Read “What to Know (and Do) About the DOJ’s Efforts to Identify and Prosecute Cybersecurity Fraud Under the False Claims Act” (PDF)

In October 2024, my colleague and family law attorney here at JGL, Lindsay Parvis and I were excited to be contacted by the Magazines and Supplements Editor for ALM/Law.com and The Legal Intelligencer to write a follow-up piece based upon our previous JGL Podcast “When Family Law and Personal Injury Collide. You can listen to the podcast here.

This blog highlights a few of the key takeaways from the article we wrote from a personal injury perspective.

As personal injury and family law are both complicated areas, they become more so when they overlap.

Four Tips to Help Attorneys Avoid Potential Hazards and Pitfalls During Representation

This article provides practical tips to help attorneys avoid potential hazards and pitfalls during representation.

Representation

During the initial intake, personal injury attorneys should inquire with their clients for marital relationships, separating (or separated) couples, divorcing spouses, and child custody issues. Identifying these relationships early can help to identify current or prior conflicts. Attorneys should also be aware of the potential physical and emotional strain to a marriage or custodial relationship when one or both spouses suffer a severe injury during representation and how this may impact which claims may be pursued, and how they may be pursued if the case proceeds to litigation.

Timing

If the personal injury attorney has properly inquired into a client’s marital or custodial status, this information provides vast opportunities for strategically structuring a settlement. A couple may be newly separated, separated for a period of time, or will be separated at some date in the future, and these are all factors that may affect how personal injury awards may be structured and which claims your client may or may not want to make. Personal injury attorneys can specify categories of settlements which may or may not be marital property.

Jurisdiction

Nearly all states have comparative negligence laws regarding liability, so when in accidents where one spouse is driving and the other is a passenger, comparative negligence does not present a problem as both spouses can make claims against any of the other drivers depending upon presumed liability.

However, in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, the law of contributory negligence holds barring recovery for the spouse who was driving, even if he/she were only partially at fault. This now presents a problem for the passenger spouse, who has no liability or fault, who would only receive recovery from suing their own spouse. Various martial situations provide different results.

Damages

Personal injury attorneys classify damages as economic and noneconomic; however, depending on where your client is in the divorce process, categorizing damages may be tricky. In marital property states, all assets and debts acquired during the marriage are divided equally (or about equally). This also includes personal injury settlements. Equitable distribution states inventory assets and categorize as separate or marital property. Personal injury awards can be a mix of both.

For the attorneys, take note of your client’s damages. Awards for medical expenses and lost wages during the marriage are generally treated as marital property, especially when marital assets are used to pay for such expenses. Awards for noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, and loss of consortium are generally separate property as the victim incurs them individually. Personal injury attorneys can maximize the benefits of a personal injury award for their client just by categorizing the distribution of funds.

Takeaways

Most importantly, when a personal injury attorney finds themselves in a tricky situation, reach out to a trusted and respected family law attorney who can provide the guidance necessary when discussing claims and settlements.

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Q&A:
Does the ground for divorce, “Irreconcilable Differences” mean that my spouse’s bad acts no longer matter anymore in Maryland?

In Maryland, the grounds for divorce have evolved to reflect our changing society. Specifically, in 2023, Maryland revised the grounds for divorce to include “irreconcilable differences” and was seen as part of Maryland’s shift towards ‘no-fault divorce’. With more than a year having passed since the change, it is worthwhile to discuss reactions to irreconcilable differences, including whether there is a net benefit to the parties involved in a divorce.

First, what is the ground, ‘Irreconcilable Differences’?

For years, we have heard about ‘Irreconcilable differences’ related to high-profile divorces, usually involved celebrities. The ground for divorce refers to significant issues or conflicts between spouses that cannot be resolved, which leads to the breakdown of the marriage. Notably, these differences can stem from various factors, such as infidelity, cruel treatment, or simply fundamental disagreements that make it impossible for the couple to continue living together as a married couple. But importantly, the law does not require to find that infidelity or cruel treatment occurred, but rather that differences arose between the spouses that are irreconcilable and therefore, the marriage must end.

So, How Does It Work?

To file for divorce based on irreconcilable differences, one or both spouses must believe that the marriage should end due to unresolved conflicts. Unlike the fault-based grounds of old, there is no need to prove wrongdoing by the offending spouse. The concept by lawmakers was to make the process simpler and quicker and only focus on the fact that the marriage is no longer viable rather than on assigning blame.

What is required to file based on ‘Irreconcilable Difference’?

To successfully file for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences in Maryland, the spouse asking for the divorce must be a resident of Maryland for at least six months prior to filing the complaint, you must identify that you are filing based on irreconcilable differences, and you must briefly identify what those irreconcilable differences are.

Does this mean that my spouse’s bad acts are irrelevant now?

One common question that arises in this new world of ‘irreconcilable differences’ is whether or not a spouse’s prior bad acts are irrelevant if proving the acts is no longer necessary. While it is true that there is no longer a requirement to prove that (for instance) adultery occurred, that does not mean that the adultery is rendered irrelevant. In fact, Maryland still considers spousal conduct as a relevant consideration when deciding alimony or property distribution.

As the ‘victim-spouse’, how do ‘Irreconcilable Differences’ help me?

Going through a divorce is an extremely emotionally taxing experience that is surpassed only by having lived through the reason for the divorce in the first place. For many, having a court find that their spouse is ‘to blame’ is often more important than the monetary outcome. While transitioning away from fault-based divorce does mean transitioning away from the focus of ‘blame’, irreconcilable differences can provide an easier path for a victim-spouse to exit a difficult or harmful relationship without the burden to relive the trauma that caused the divorce in the first place. Additionally, irreconcilable differences can lead to a quicker divorce by way of focusing on how to resolve issues related to alimony, custody, and property division as opposed to proving fault.

Ultimately, transitioning to ‘irreconcilable differences’ allows spouses to focus on formally ending their relationship as opposed to focusing on what caused the end of their relationship. It is this nuanced paradigm shift that aims to reduce fees and litigation time and allow for the emotional recovery stage to begin quicker. If you want to talk about how irreconcilable differences can impact your case, contact Christopher R. Castellano.

In this episode of JGL LAW FOR YOU, JGL family law attorneys Lindsay Parvis and David Bulitt discuss tips for managing the holidays when shared between two households during and after Divorce.

Potential clients often ask whether prenuptial agreements (also called ante-nuptial agreements) are enforceable in court. The answer is – they can be and often are. Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements often avoid costly litigation and permit parties to amicably resolve complex issues without submitting the issues to a court. In fact, Maryland courts favor agreements between parties that resolve issues. However, not all prenuptial and postnuptial agreements may be enforced simply because both parties signed.

The Maryland appellate courts have been clear that “a party seeking to attack the agreement may resort to the other potential contract defenses . . . fraud, duress, coercion, mistake, undue influence, or incompetence on the part of a party.” Cannon v. Cannon, 384 Md. 537 (2005).

Further, when the parties enter into a prenuptial agreement, the court is required to consider other additional factors as well. The court moves away from a “straight forward contract” analysis to a focus on the confidential relationship that exists and whether there was frank, full and truthful disclosure of income and assets when the agreement was entered into. Cannon at 567.

The Supreme Court of Maryland ultimately set forth a five-factor test gleaned from John F. Fader, II & Richard J. Gilbert’s Maryland Family Law, which summarized what it considered five “important considerations to determine the validity of a premarital agreement”:

1. Fair and equitable in procurement and result;
2. Parties must make frank, full and truthful disclosure of all their assets;
3. The agreement must be entered voluntarily, freely and with full knowledge of its meaning and effect;
4. The importance of independent legal advice in evaluating whether the agreement was voluntarily and understandingly made is emphasized;
5. There is a confidential relationship between the parties which, if a contest to validity occurs, shifts the burden of proof to the one attempting to uphold the agreement to prove that it is fair and equitable.
   
   Callahan & Ries, Maryland Family Law, Seventh Ed., § 14-5.

An analysis of each of these factors is case specific. An experienced family law attorney will seek to avoid the appearance of any impropriety in guiding you while drafting a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Such issues as providing your partner a limited time for review, only weeks or days before a wedding, using fraud, duress, or coercion to obtain his or her consent and other issues can lead to a court not enforcing an agreement. Parties must also fully disclose all of their assets, not leaving a party to take his or her partner at their word. Additionally, even if a partner chooses not to engage a lawyer, he or she must be provided the opportunity to seek independent legal advice. In one prior case, a husband consulted with his own legal counsel for almost seven months and then presented the prenuptial agreement to his wife-to-be only a few days before the wedding. Clearly, she was deprived of the opportunity to seek independent legal counsel.

While prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are incredibly important and useful tools in equitably dividing premarital assets and resolving issues in the event of a marital dispute, you should seek an experienced family law attorney who is familiar with both the intricacies of drafting such an agreement and the pitfalls should the agreement ever be challenged.

Darin L. Rumer is a partner in Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s Family Law practice group. He has successfully tried multiple divorce, custody and child support cases throughout the state of Maryland for over 20 years and routinely provides counsel to clients as they navigate a difficult and stressful time in their lives. David routinely advises and represents clients in family law matters including child custody and divorce litigation, separation agreements, child support and alimony issues, property distribution issues, domestic violence, and all other areas of family law.

Personal injury and family law are complicated areas and become even more so when they overlap, for example, when one or both spouses is the victim of a personal injury accident during a divorce settlement. In their article in The Legal Intelligencer, Lindsay Parvis and Renee Blocker provide practical tips for attorneys navigating these issues. Read the article “When Personal Injury and Family Law Collide” to learn what steps to take to avoid potential hazards and pitfalls during representation.

Brian Markovitz, JGL Principal and Andy Santillo of Winebrake and Santillo represent Estephanie Martiniz, a former warehouse employee at Amazon in Baltimore in claims against Amazon for unpaid wages and unjust enrichment. On November 11, 2024, the Court certified her class action against Amazon on behalf of 23,914 other workers.

In this episode of JGL LAW FOR YOU, JGL family law attorneys Christopher Castellano and David Bulitt discuss AI’s Impact on Your Divorce.

The EEOC stands for the “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” This agency investigates potential cases of employment discrimination and harassment—based on protected categories—and retaliation.

In Maryland, in addition to filing a charge with the EEOC, aggrieved individuals can cross-file their charges with Fair Employment Practices Agencies (“FEPAs”). In Maryland, these FEPAs include the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (“MCCR”) and various county agencies, such as the Prince George’s County Office of Human Rights.

After the EEOC completes its investigation of the charge, if the EEOC cannot determine that there is reasonable cause to believe that discrimination or retaliation took place, the EEOC will issue a “Dismissal and Notice of Rights.” This notice advises the Charging Party that they have 90 days from receiving the notice to file a lawsuit based on the EEOC charge in court.

However, if the EEOC finds reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred, the EEOC will issue a Letter of Determination to both parties, inviting them to seek to resolve the charge via conciliation. If conciliation is unsuccessful in resolving the charge, the EEOC can file a lawsuit on behalf of the Charging Party. Alternatively, if the EEOC decides not to file a lawsuit, the EEOC will send the Charging Party a Notice of Right to Sue, and the Charging Party will have 90 days to file a lawsuit.

For additional information regarding the EEOC, read our post “What is the EEOC, and Do I Need Labor & Employment Representation?”