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REID COLLINS WINS $121 MILLION FRAUD JUDGMENT AGAINST CREDIT SUISSE IN DECADES-LONG LEGAL BATTLE

On June 25, 2021, after over 10 years of negotiation, litigation, trial and appeals, the Reid Collins team in Claymore Holdings LLC v. Credit Suisse AG has emerged – yet again – victorious. The Texas state court in which the firm obtained a 2014 jury verdict against Credit Suisse entered a fraud judgment on remand, awarding more than $121 million to the firm’s client Claymore Holdings, an affiliate of NexPoint Advisors and Highland Capital Management Fund Advisors. The suit accuses Credit Suisse of conspiring with a CBRE appraiser to grossly overvalue a 2007 Las Vegas real estate development loan in which it fraudulently induced Claymore to invest over $250 million.
The case has had a remarkable history. After winning a $40 million jury verdict to great fanfare in the legal media (the Reid Collins trial team was profiled by The American Lawyer at the time), and after securing a judgment from the Texas state court, Reid Collins partners William T. Reid, IV, Lisa S. Tsai and Nathaniel J. Palmer argued and won multiple appeals on multiple issues in the Texas Court of Appeals and before the Texas Supreme Court. Ultimately, the Texas Supreme Court did something very rare and telling in its 2020 ruling – it affirmed a jury verdict for fraud and remanded the case to the trial court solely for it to reconsider its damages award.
Read the judgment awarding over $121 million to Claymore here.

REID COLLINS’ INDUSTRY-LEADING COMPENSATION MODEL FEATURED IN THE AMERICAN LAWYER

The legal media has been abuzz with commentary and reporting on lawyer compensation and the battle for talent in BigLaw. Included in this coverage, prominent outlet The American Lawyer published a look at how some of the top national trial boutiques compensate their lawyers, profiling Reid Collins on June 18, 2021.
As the article describes, Reid Collins matches and bests the industry’s upper salary scale, with base salaries for first-year associates starting at $225,000 and rising quickly so that six-year lawyers receive $400,000 and more. In addition, the firm provides generous bonuses to all of its lawyers and staff throughout the year, to reward and acknowledge them for their specific contributions to the firm’s success. This model not only eclipses BigLaw’s best salary and bonus packages, but also epitomizes the firm’s core belief that its people and its team are the reason for its success, and therefore every person at the firm should share in that success. As explained in the article, “the firm pays bonuses when money comes in, and so far associates have received about $80,000 on average this year, and another bonus payment is pending.”
“We have been above market for a long time,” partner Bill Reid was quoted, taking pride in achieving the firm’s bedrock goal of creating the best possible working environment while also providing world-class compensation.
Click here to view The American Lawyer article entitled “Like Big Law Firms, Trial Boutiques Raising Associate Salaries” (paywall)

DOJ INTERVENES IN $129 MILLION MEDICARE FRAUD WHISTLEBLOWER SUIT FILED BY REID COLLINS ON BEHALF OF INTEGRA AGAINST NY-BASED SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES

Reid Collins filed a whistleblower lawsuit under seal on behalf of its client, Integra Med Analytics, LLC, pursuant to the False Claims Act against a major group of skilled nursing facilities in New York tied to Isaac Laufer. On June 3, 2021, the qui tam action, alleging a Medicare fraud exceeding $129 million, was made public as the U.S. Department of Justice took the rare step of intervening to prosecute the action. The case alleges that eleven New York-based skilled nursing facilities related to Isaac Laufer, his management company (Paragon Management SNF LLC), and a senior employee (Tami Whitney) fraudulently billing Medicare for unnecessary services for a decade.
The DOJ’s lawsuit carries forward claims developed by Integra through its extensive investigation and data analysis of the Medicare billing practices of these facilities. Integra’s investigation demonstrated that these defendants were engaged in significant Medicare fraud through the provision of unnecessary and unreasonable ultra-high rehab and wrongfully extending patient stays without regard for patients’ medical needs. Integra’s lawsuit brought claims against the Laufer-related entities for over $129 million in alleged Medicare fraud. Following its own investigation of Integra’s allegations, DOJ filed its own complaint-in-intervention alleging that the very schemes identified by Integra continued through 2019.
View the DOJ’s press release here.
Click here to view the Reid Collins/Integra press release.

CHAMBERS USA PROFILES FOUR REID COLLINS PARTNERS AS TOP LITIGATORS

In its 2021 USA Guide to leading law firms and lawyers, Chambers and Partners has recognized four Reid Collins partners as among the top litigators in the nation: P. Jason Collins, Eric D. Madden, William T. “Bill” Reid IV, and Lisa S. Tsai. The leaders of “a great team of impressive litigators,” Collins, Madden, Reid and Tsai have built one of the nation’s top litigation boutiques in just a few years – “a particularly strong choice to litigate complex fraud claims and bankruptcy litigation.” Among other highlights in their Chambers’ profiles: Collins is noted as a “very good communicator….[who] does an excellent job handing business and financial litigation;” Madden “handles a wide array of commercial disputes…he is outstanding…results-driven and very creative;” Reid is described as “a terrific lawyer with a wealth of experience in civil and criminal litigation and particular expertise in insolvency matters; and Tsai is praised for her broad-based commercial litigation practice – “a very smart, effective and successful litigator with a proven track record.”
Click here to view Chambers’ full 2021 profiles of the firm’s leading lawyers.

CHAMBERS USA AGAIN NAMES REID COLLINS A TOP COMMERCIAL LITIGATION FIRM

In its 2021 USA Guide to leading law firms and lawyers, Chambers and Partners has once again recognized Reid Collins as one of the top litigation firms in the nation. Ranked as Band 1 (Chambers’ highest honor) in Texas (Austin and Dallas) for general commercial litigation, Reid Collins is known as a “preeminent litigation boutique respected for its impressive track record in trials…[and that] regularly handles high-stakes disputes across the USA in addition to Texas…[A] great team of litigators who work on big-ticket cases.”
Click here to view Chambers’ full 2021 profile for Reid Collins.

The attorney responsible for this website is William T. Reid, IV

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