Josh Russ | Reese Marketos LLP | High Stakes Commercial Litigation

“There are a lot of good baseball players but there are only a few who the experts describe as ‘five tool guys’; those rare players are the ones who are excellent in all phases of the game—hitting for power, hitting for average, throwing, running and fielding. The same is also true for lawyers. There are plenty of good attorneys, but the really excellent ones combine a rare combination of gifts and hard work that separates them from the pack. Josh Russ is one of those rare few that has ‘it’—he is a brilliant legal tactician; he has an outstanding work ethic as well as tremendous compassion; and perhaps most importantly, Josh has honed an uncanny ability to understand and solve problems for his client. Simply put, Josh is a Hall of Fame advocate in all respects.”

– Malcolm Bales,
Former United States Attorney
for the Eastern District of Texas

“If you need a whistleblower attorney, then you need Josh Russ. He has been in your shoes and knows how hard it is to take a stand. He is a straight-shooting, Native Texan that fully immersed himself in our case, put an incredible trial team together, and vindicated us (and the Army CID, DCIS, & FBI agents) with a resounding win after a two-week trial. He won’t steer you wrong.”

– Phil Marsteller,
Relator

Overview

A former Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Josh is a principled and relentless advocate.

Josh previously oversaw and directed most of the Eastern District’s False Claims Act and civil Controlled Substances Act investigations and litigation. In less than five years, Josh’s work contributed to the recovery of more than $85 million in settlements, suspensions, and judgments on behalf of American taxpayers. Josh was also named the Eastern District’s Civil Healthcare Fraud Coordinator, where he worked to develop the district’s parallel proceedings practices in accordance with Department of Justice policy. For his work, Josh was awarded the Executive Office of United States Attorneys Director’s Award for Superior Performance as a Civil AUSA.

In 2018, Josh was promoted to serve as the Eastern District’s Civil Chief. In that position, Josh supervised all civil litigation across the Eastern District’s six divisions: Sherman, Texarkana, Marshall, Tyler, Lufkin, and Beaumont. In addition to managing the Eastern District’s affirmative False Claims Act and civil Controlled Substances Act dockets, Josh supervised the district’s Financial Litigation Unit as well as defensive litigation against the United States, its agencies, and its personnel.

In November 2019, Josh rejoined Reese Marketos as a partner, where he leads the firm’s False Claims Act practice.

Notable Case Results

$150 million jury verdict (United States ex rel. Penelow v. Janssen Products, LP)
- Plaintiff’s trial counsel
- Declined pharmaceutical False Claims Act case in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

$51.9 million bench trial award (Cardinal Midstream II, LLC v. Energy Transfer LP, et al.)
- Plaintiff’s trial counsel
- Breach of contract action between natural gas companies in the Court of Common Pleas of Beaver County, Pennsylvania

$36 million jury verdict (United States ex rel. Marsteller v. MD Helicopters, Inc.)
- Plaintiff’s lead trial counsel
- Declined defense procurement False Claims Act case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

$100 million settlement (United States of America ex rel. Silver v. Omnicare, Inc., PharMerica Corp, et al.)
- Plaintiff’s lead trial counsel
- Declined healthcare fraud False Claims Act case in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

$38.5 million settlement (United States ex rel. Thrower v. Academy Mortgage Corp.)
- Plaintiff’s lead trial counsel
- Declined mortgage fraud False Claims Act action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California

$6.8 million settlement (United States ex rel. Doe v. DermaTran Health Solutions, LLC, et al.)
- Plaintiff’s lead trial counsel
- Intervened False Claims Act action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

$1.2 million reward from the SEC for an anonymous whistleblower
- Lead counsel

Presentations

“Focus on the Relator’s Bar: Understanding the Relationship Between Relators and the Government and Developments in the Relator’s Bar”
- Panelist, ACI False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement, New York City (January 2023)

“How to Win an FCA Case Once It’s Unsealed: A View from the Trenches”
- Moderator, ABA Civil False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement Institute (September 2022)

“Winning Whistleblower Claims”
- Panel Member, The 2022 Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute (May 2022)

“What We Wish We Knew – Advice From Former Government Attorneys”
- Panel Member, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund 20th Annual Conference, Plano, Texas (October 2020)

“‘Uh, Houston, We’ve Had a Problem.’ – Criminal Law for Civil Lawyers”
- Panel Member, Eastern District of Texas 2019 Bench Bar Conference, Plano, Texas (September 2019)

“Opioid Enforcement – Pharmacies”
- Speaker, Western ACE Conference 2019, Denver, Colorado (September 2019)

“Prosecuting Corporations”
- Instructor, Prosecuting Diversion Cases, Quantico/Stafford, Virginia (August 2019)

“The False Claims Act and Parallel Proceedings”
- Guest Lecturer, Baylor Law School, Waco, Texas (March 2019)

“Qui Tam. The Growing Role of ‘Private Attorneys General’ in EDTX Under the Federal False Claims Act”
- Panel Member, Eastern District of Texas 2018 Bench Bar Conference, Plano, Texas (October 2018)

“Civil Remedies in Diversion Cases”
- Instructor, DEA Academy, Diversion Specialized Training Unit, Quantico/Stafford, Virginia (October 2018)

“Triaging Post-Escobar Litigation Issues”
- Panel Member, Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) for Attorneys Seminar, Columbia, South Carolina (May 2018)

“Healthcare Investigation Workshop”
- Guest Lecturer, University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas (April 2018)

“Parallel Proceedings”
- Guest Lecturer, University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas (March 2018)

“Healthcare Compliance and the False Claims Act”
- Guest Lecturer, University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas (February 2018)

“Healthcare Compliance, False Claims Act Cases, and Parallel Investigations”
- Guest Lecturer, University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas (February 2017)

“Enforcement Update”
- Panel Member, Texas Hospital Association 2016 Health Law Conference, Austin, Texas (October 2016)

“Parallel Proceedings”
- Panel Member, Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) for Attorneys Seminar, Columbia, South Carolina (August 2016)

“Settling False Claims Act Cases”
- Moderator, Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) for Attorneys Seminar Columbia, South Carolina (August 2016)

“False Claims Act Cases and Parallel Investigation”
- Speaker, U.S.-European Fraud Working Group Meeting, Garmisch, Germany (June 2016)

“Parallel Proceedings: Best Practices”
- Panel Member, Healthcare Fraud Coordinators’ Conference, Columbia, South Carolina (May 2016)

Awards

Awarded 35th EOUSA Director’s Award: Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney – Civil, February 2019
Nominated for the Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee, February 2018
Top 100 Verdict 2021, The National Law Journal

Education

University of California, Berkeley School of Law Juris Doctor, 2010; Prosser Prize
University of Miami Bachelor of Arts, 2006; Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society

Admissions

Supreme Court of Texas
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas

Media and Podcasts

“Whistleblower Lawyers Renée Brooker and Josh Russ,” Fraud in America Podcast (Listen Here)
“Recovering $Millions with the False Claims Act – Josh Russ,” Climate Money Watchdog Podcast (Listen Here)
“Whistleblowing, Separation Agreements, and the Enforceability of Contractual Limitations,” American Bar Association, The Health Lawyer (June 2020) Learn More