The lawyers of Reese Marketos walked into a ballroom … and left as honorees of the National Law Journal’s Elite Trial Lawyers 2026 awards.
During the July 23 ceremony at the JW Marriott Essex House New York, the National Law Journal recognized Reese Marketos’s work representing whistleblowers in high-stakes False Claims Act litigation with the Governmental Representation award, a category that included three other finalist firms.
NLJ’s Elite Trial Lawyers recognizes select law firms across the U.S. that have achieved standout results for plaintiffs.
Since launching its False Claims Act practice in late 2019, Reese Marketos has helped the government recover hundreds of millions of dollars for U.S. taxpayers. Recent litigation successes include securing the largest FCA trial judgment in history ($1.64 billion) against Johnson & Johnson, reaching a $100 million eve-of-trial settlement against a pharmacy services provider, obtaining a $38.5 million eve-of-trial settlement in a mortgage fraud case, and securing a $36 million jury verdict against defense contractor MD Helicopters.
Accepting the award on behalf of the entire firm, partners Andrew Wirmani and Josh Russ praised the talent and hard work of their colleagues, who made the recognition possible.
“It is an honor to be recognized alongside so many high-caliber law firms from around the nation,” said Russ, who heads the firm’s False Claims Act litigation. “Our FCA practice was built from scratch, and our results show what’s possible when you combine elite trial advocacy with relentless preparation.”
“We’ve built something special in a short time, and it’s because of the talent and commitment of every Reese Marketos lawyer who’s worked on these cases,” Wirmani added. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in just a few short years, but we’re even more excited about what’s ahead. There’s no shortage of fraud against the government, and we intend to keep holding bad actors accountable.”
Other Reese Marketos attorneys on the cases that led to this recognition include Allison Cook, Jamison Joiner, Brett Rosenthal, Adam Sanderson, Whitney Wendel, Pete Marketos, Tyler Bexley, and Leslie Chaggaris.
More information can be found above in the National Law Journal’s Q&A with Andrew Wirmani.
About Reese Marketos LLP
Founded in 2011, Reese Marketos tries cases others won’t, with stakes ranging from tens of millions to bet-the-company. The firm exclusively represents plaintiffs in False Claims Act and other whistleblower matters and represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial disputes, energy litigation, and intellectual property.