Baron & Budd’s whistleblower practice is proud to announce that four of its shareholders were recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®: Scott Simmer, Andrew Miller, Noah Rich, and William Powers. For Rich and Powers, this marks their first time receiving the honor. In addition, 13 other Baron & Budd attorneys were recognized in the 2027 edition.

Why This Recognition Matters

Best Lawyers^® is described as an elite global network of legal professionals with recognition based on peer review that reflects the professional esteem of fellow attorneys in the same geographic region and practice area. The Purely Peer Review^® methodology used by Best Lawyers^® reinforces the principle that recognition should be based on the opinions of fellow attorneys, not marketing influence or paid placements.

Significant Whistleblower Settlements

The attorneys in Baron & Budd’s whistleblower practice have secured several significant settlements over the past year, underscoring the practice’s experience and success in representing whistleblowers. For example, in early 2026, the practice represented two whistleblowers who alleged that a major government contractor supplied defective products to federal and state governments. For their information, the whistleblowers received 30% of the $12.25 million settlement – the maximum amount permitted under the False Claims Act.

Also, last year, Baron & Budd represented a whistleblower in a significant case that reached a $350 million settlement with Walgreens in another important enforcement action concerning the opioid epidemic. According to the complaint, Walgreens illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act and then sought payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act.

In another notable case last year, Baron & Budd represented a whistleblower who alleged that Advanced Pain Care and its owner Dr. Mark Malone performed medically unnecessary and dangerous spinal surgeries, paid unlawful kickbacks to patients and healthcare providers, and performed medically unnecessary urine drug testing. Advanced Pain Care and Dr. Malone paid $13.625 million to resolve these allegations.

About Us

Baron & Budd’s whistleblower representation team has more than 50 years of combined experience representing dozens of clients in government fraud cases. They have returned more than $6 billion to federal and state agencies with whistleblower recovery shares as high as 50%.

Please call (866) 845-2164 or complete our contact form if you would like more information. For more information, see What You Need to Know About Becoming a Whistleblower.