August 21, 2025
Two Whistleblower Law Collaborative attorneys labeled with “Best Lawyers” distinction for a fourth year. Suzanne E. Durrell and Erica Blachman Hitchings are both former DOJ attorneys. They now devote their practices to whistleblowers.
Whistleblower LLC Member Erica Blachman Hitchings was selected by her peers for inclusion in this year’s The Best Lawyers® in America 2026 for Employment Law – Individuals. Erica has dedicated her entire career to False Claims Act cases, first as a government attorney and now representing whistleblowers.
Prior to joining WLC in 2019, Erica spent nine years in the Department of Justice. In 2009, Erica entered the Department through the prestigious Attorney General’s Honors Program. She immediately set to work investigating and litigating FCA cases as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Fraud section. In those first years, Erica was a member of a procurement fraud litigation team that recovered over $250 million from numerous technology and consulting companies for allegedly defrauding the government through pricing and kickback schemes. She earned a Special Commendation for Outstanding Service in the Civil Division for her role in those matters.
After two years in D.C., Erica moved to San Francisco and became an Assistant U.S. Attorney. She continued to work on FCA matters, including a $37 million resolution with Dignity Health for allegedly admitting patients who could have been treated on a less costly, outpatient basis and a whistleblower complaint regarding the submission of false claims for medically unnecessary therapy. Erica also spearheaded two cutting-edge Medicare Advantage fraud investigations. One of these matters led to a $90 million recovery against Sutter Health. The other, against Kaiser Permanente, is in litigation with over a billion dollars in alleged false claims.
In 2019, Erica returned to Boston, where (prior to DOJ) she had clerked for the Honorable Patti B. Saris of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Erica joined WLC and applied her government experience to her representation of whistleblowers in a wide range of matters. In her first WLC matter, Erica represented a whistleblower who alleged that a fuel company was overcharging cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The scheme also undermined state and local governments’ efforts to reduce harmful emissions. That matter resolved quickly, netting $850,000 for the Commonwealth. In addition, the settlement limited the defendant’s ability to contract with the Commonwealth in the future.
Erica was proud to be a member of the legal team representing the whistleblower in a municipal bond fraud settlement. The $70 million qui tam settlement was with eight of the nation’s largest banks. It is the largest reported settlement ever under the Illinois False Claims Act. In addition, Erica is one of relator’s counsel in the Study Across the Pond education fraud matter in which the government partially intervened in May 2024. It is alleged that Study Across the Pond charged the universities on a per-student basis thus violating the “incentive compensation ban.” The litigation in this matter is underway. Erica also represented the whistleblower who brought allegations that Zoll Medical Corporation had violated the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and led to a $400,000 recovery.
Erica is an active member of the whistleblower attorney community, serving on the President’s Council of the TAF Coalition. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and teaches Healthcare Fraud and Abuse at Boston University School of Law.
Suzanne E. Durrell has been included in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Qui Tam Law, Litigation – Health Care, and Health Care Law. Suzanne has extensive experience handling False Claims Act cases over the past thirty years. After a distinguished career with the Department of Justice, she founded Whistleblower Law Collaborative with Robert M. Thomas, Jr. in 2003.
Prior to representing whistleblowers, Suzanne served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. She began as Deputy Chief, and then became Chief, of the Civil Division. Suzanne was instrumental in developing that Office’s now famed False Claims Act practice. Suzanne prosecuted many notable FCA cases in the government, including several qui tam cases against National Medicare Care, Inc. (Fresenius). Under her leadership, the government recorded a then record-breaking $486 million civil and criminal settlement in the Fresenius cases. Suzanne also played a role in shaping policies for False Claims Act enforcement nationwide as Deputy Associate Attorney General in Washington D.C. (1991-1992). During her tenure with the DOJ, she received numerous awards from DOJ and other agencies. Among them was the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, the most prestigious recognition bestowed by the DOJ.
Suzanne’s career as whistleblower counsel is also a model of success. She has represented whistleblowers in numerous landmark cases, including: the $234 million settlement against Mallinckrodt with WLC’s Linda Severin, the firm’s $17 million success on behalf of an SEC whistleblower, and many more. Suzanne is proud to be part of the honorary society of American Bar Fellows for her outstanding dedication to her clients and demonstrating the highest principles of the legal profession.
First published in 1983, recognition by Best Lawyers ® is based entirely on peer review. Their process is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.