Our Attorneys

Suzanne E. Durrell

“After 30 years, I still get a thrill from the power, reach, and flexibility of the False Claims Act. I love wielding the law to help clients, the government, and the public.”

Suzanne Durrell has extensive experience handling False Claims Act cases over the past thirty years, first representing the government and then representing whistleblowers. She and Robert M. Thomas, Jr., are the co-founders and managing members of the Whistleblower Law Collaborative LLC. Recognized as “an incomparable team,” Ms. Durrell and Mr. Thomas were named the 2017 Lawyers of the Year by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund for “an extraordinarily successful year in careers devoted to fighting fraud.”

Suzanne Durrell served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and as Deputy Chief, and then Chief, Civil Division, U. S. Attorney’s Office, Boston, supervising and prosecuting the office’s burgeoning qui tam and False Claims Act cases from 1989 to 2002. Most notably, she was the lead civil attorney on the five qui tam cases and investigation against National Medical Care, Inc./Fresenius that, in 2000, resulted in a then record $486 million health care fraud settlement.  She also served as Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U. S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. (1991-1992) and was a national leader in developing strategies and policies for enforcing the False Claims Act. During her tenure with the Department of Justice, she received numerous awards from the Department and other agencies, including the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, the most prestigious recognition bestowed by the Department.

“What you’ve accomplished is amazing, but it is who you are—brilliant, tireless, honorable, creative, modest (and so much fun)—that has changed the lives of everyone you’ve worked with or against or represented, including me. Thank you.”

— Client

SED MLW WOL 2022

 

Following her distinguished career with the Department of Justice, Suzanne Durrell established Durrell Law Office in 2003 representing whistleblowers and handling False Claims Act litigation in collaboration with Mr. Thomas, then of Thomas & Associates in Boston.  Later, they founded the Whistleblower Law Collaborative LLC. She is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences and has authored articles on the False Claims Act and other whistleblower laws.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Durrell served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1984-1989) and was an associate at the law firm of Hill & Barlow in Boston (1978-1984). During this period of her career, she litigated dozens of civil cases and briefed and argued multiple appeals in both state and federal courts. She also was a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics (1984 – 1991).

Suzanne Durrell is a 1978 cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and a 1975 graduate with honors from Swarthmore College. During law school she was a Notes Editor on the American Criminal Law Review and served on the staff of the Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, United States Senator (D-VT).

Listen to Suzanne describe her life and career for Women’s History Month in March 2021.

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1978
  • Medicare Advantage Fraud, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Twenty-First Annual Conference, October 13-15, 2021
  • Whistleblowers: Who Are They and Why Do They Become Whistleblowers and How Do You Evaluate a Whistleblower Case? Health Care Compliance Association, 25th Annual Compliance Institute, April 19-22, 2021
  • Fraud in the Time of COVID-19: Medical Devices, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, March 2021
  • Fraud in the Time of COVID-19: Clinical Trial Fraud, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, September 2020
  • Fraud in the Time of COVID-19: Pharmaceuticals, Biologics, and Devices, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, June 2020
  • Qui Tam Trends, Boston Bar Association Life Sciences Conference, Boston, MA, October 2019
  • Emerging Practice Areas, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Nineteenth Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., October 2019
  • False Claims Act panel, Boston Bar Association White Collar Crime Conference, Boston, MA, March 2019
  • Qui Tam Roundtable, Nineteenth Annual Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Compliance Congress, Washington, D.C., November 2018
  • False Claims Act Liability in Patient Assistance Programs, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Eighteenth Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., October 2018
  • The U.S. Supreme Court’s Escobar Ruling on False Claims Act Cases – Trends and Developments Since the June 2016 Decision, Massachusetts Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Boston, MA,  June 2018
  • Government Enforcement Targeting Financial Relationships, 3rd Annual Mintz Levin Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Industry Summit, Boston, MA, May 2018
  • Practical Issues in Damages Calculations, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., November 2017
  • Defense, Relator, and Department of Justice Perspectives, National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units Team Leader Symposium, Providence, RI, August 2017
  • The False Claims Act: What Companies Should Know to Avoid Liability & Defend Claims, Directors Roundtable Institute, Boston, MA, May 2017
  • Government and Defense Bar Perspectives, Boston Bar Association Healthcare Fraud Conference, Boston, MA, May 2016
  • Implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June Escobar Ruling on False Claims Act Cases—Perspectives From all Sides of the Issues, Massachusetts Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Boston, MA, July 2016
  • Off-Label Prescription Drug Use, Boston Bar Association, Boston, MA, November 2016
  • Qui Tam Panel, Fifteenth Annual Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Compliance Congress, Washington, D.C., November 2014
  • The Evolving Role of the Relator: Opportunities and Challenges, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Twelfth Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., September 2012
  • Investigation of a False Claims Act Case, American Bar Association Ninth Annual National Institute on the Civil False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement, Washington, D.C., June 2012
  • Recent Developments in False Claims Act Litigation, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, March 2011
  • False Claims Litigation 2010, Practicing Law Institute, New York City, NY, November 2010
  • Nuts and Bolts of Qui Tam Actions: Perspectives from the Relator, Government and Defense, American Bar Association Regional White Collar Crime Young Lawyers Subcommittee, Boston, MA, October 2006
  • Federal and State False Claims Act Developments, 16th Annual National Institute on Health Care Fraud, American Bar Association, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, May 2006
  • Qui Tam Actions: Settlements and Mediations, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., October 2005
  • Recent Developments in False Claims Act Damages and Penalties, American Bar Association 5th Annual National Institute on the Civil False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement, Washington, D.C., June 2004
  • Litigating Qui Tam Cases, American Bar Association White Collar Crime National Institute, Miami, FL, March 2004
  • Multiple Relator Cases: First-to-File Case Law Update, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Third Annual Conference, Washington, DC, June 2003
  • Trends in Government Fraud Cases: Whistleblowers and Others, Boston Bar Association: sponsored by Health Law and Business Law Sections, October 2001
  • U.S. District Court Trends and Statistics, Federal Bar Association: Co-Panelist with Chief Judge William G. Young, Chief Justice, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, September 2001
  • Doing Business with the Government, Avoiding the Pitfalls, Boston Bar Association: Co-Panelist, sponsored by the Criminal Law and Business Law Sections, April 2001
  • Handling Federal False Claims Act (Qui Tam) Whistleblower Cases, Legal and Strategic Considerations for Both the Plaintiff and Defendants’ Counsel, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education: Co-Panelist, May 2000
  • Fellow, the American Bar Foundation
  • Member, Taxpayers Against Fraud COVID-19 Anti-Fraud Task Force
    • Chair, Subcommittee on Pharmaceuticals, Biologics, and Device Fraud
  • Best Lawyers® 2023-24, Qui Tam Law
  • Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Top Women of Law 2022
  • Boston Magazine Top Lawyer
  • Lawyer of the Year (2017), Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund
  • Super Lawyer
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent
  • U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, U.S. Department of Justice (highest award given)
  • Award for Excellence in Investigations, President’s Council on Efficiency and Integrity
  • Cooperative Achievement Award, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
  • Honorable Mention for Case of the Year, The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association
  • Crime Victims Fund Award, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
  • Mark Gallinghouse Memorial Award for Excellence in Financial Litigation, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (for the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Working Group)
  • Integrity Award, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (for investigation and prosecution of Health Care Fraud Cases)