Lisa has considerable experience in FCA and whistleblower (qui tam) litigation involving both health care providers and government contractors. Most recently, she was a key member of the legal team that obtained summary judgment on FCA allegations brought by the Department of Justice against a home dialysis supplier. Earlier in her career, Lisa played a key role in obtaining summary judgment against a support surface supplier facing multimillion dollar FCA liability in an intervened qui tam action. Lisa's reported FCA cases include:
- United States ex rel. Williams v. Renal Care Group (E.D. Mo. and M.D. Tenn., various proceedings 2008-2012) (intervened).
- United States ex rel. Werner v. Fuentez (N.D. W. Va. 2004) (non-intervened)
- United States ex rel. Medica-Rents Co. (N.D. Tex. 2003) (intervened)
Lisa also provides ongoing compliance counseling to clients, which include dialysis, device, hospice, and home health providers. She advises on a broad range of compliance-related issues, with a particular focus on minimizing the risk of liability under the False Claims Act, Health Care Anti-Kickback Law and Physician Self-Referral Law. She frequently assists clients with voluntary disclosures, compliance with the affirmative obligation to report and return federal health program overpayments and responses to audit requests from OIG, recovery audit, and program integrity contractors.
Beyond government investigations and compliance work, Lisa has assisted health care clients with a range of civil and administrative litigation, including employment contract disputes, actions by professional licensing boards, certificate of need appeals, and collection actions. She has mounted successful administrative challenges to large-scale payment denials and billing privilege revocations.
Prior to attending law school, Lisa held a variety of political and public policy positions. She served as a press secretary in the US House of Representatives and in a number of political campaigns, including the congressional campaigns of US Reps. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa and John Linder, R-Ga. She has developed and implemented grassroots advocacy and media campaigns for numerous public policy groups, including Citizens for a Sound Economy, the National Policy Forum and the Hudson Institute.
Lisa has served as an adjunct professor of legal writing at George Washington University School of Law. She currently is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association.
Lisa's publications and presentations include:
- “The Civil False Claims Act: A Primer for Career and Other Proprietary Colleges,” Arent Fox webinar, November 2008.
- Feature Comment: Georgia Court Breathes New Life Into Pre-Filing Releases of qui tam Liability, The Government Contractor, Vol. 47, No. 47 (2005).
- “Fraud and Abuse Laws Hinder the Use of Health Care Information Technology,” BNA’s Health Care Fraud Report, Jan. 7, 2004.
- “Medical Device Manufacturers and the “Creative” Use of the False Claims Act,” Howard J. Young and Lisa A. Estrada, Food and Drug Law Institute’s Update magazine (2003).
- “Buying the Status Quo on Affirmative Action: The Piscataway Settlement and its Lessons About Interest Group Path Manipulation,” 9 Geo. Mason U. Civ. Rts. L.J. 207 (1999).
- “An Assessment of qui tam Suits by Corporate Counsel Under the False Claims Act: United States ex rel. Doe v. X Corp.,” 7 Geo Mason L. Rev. 163 (1998).
She has also presented on legal ethics at the National Youth Leadership Forum, a seminar for honors high school students interested in legal careers.
Life Beyond the Law
Lisa is the former Board President of Street Sense, a nonprofit organization that works to address the challenges of homelessness in Washington, DC, by providing a low-barrier income-generation opportunity for homeless men and women. Lisa and her family recently relocated to New York City's Upper West Side and have fallen in love with Central Park.
