James F. Barger, Jr.

Jim Barger, Jr. is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who handles complex civil and white collar criminal cases, particularly qui tam cases under the False Claims Act. Jim achieved his first seven-figure civil result within two years of practice and his first eight-figure civil result within five years of practice. Together with partner Henry Frohsin, he is the only attorney in the country to defend successfully an international Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) case at trial during the Patriot Act era (read article). As a result of their highly-publicized defense of wrongfully accused Iranian-American contractor, Alex Latifi, Frohsin and Barger became the only attorneys in Alabama ever to receive an award of attorneys’ fees from the federal court against the government in a criminal case. Jim practices primarily in the federal courts, is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, and has argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. His pro bono work includes representing death row inmates on appeal (read article).

Named a ”Rising Star” in Super Lawyers and in Birmingham Magazine’s list of “Top Attorneys,” Jim has served as distinguished faculty for the American Bar Association's national institutes in both white collar crime and international law and as guest lecturer at Samford University and the University of Alabama School of Law. His legal writing is frequently cited in treatises, court pleadings, and journals, including Alabama Law Review, Boston University Law Review, Cardozo Law Review, and Columbia Law Review, and has helped shape the professional and academic discourse regarding False Claims Act whistleblower litigation. Additionally, Jim is an award-winning travel and fly-fishing writer, having visited more than 30 countries on 6 continents with by-lines in such well-known periodicals as Field & Stream, Sports Afield, and Sporting Tales magazines.

Professional Honors & Activities

• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• Trustee, University of Alabama School of Law, Farrah Law Society
• Executive-in-Residence, Samford University, Brock School of Business
• Faculty, American Bar Association
• Designated a “Rising Star” in Birmingham Magazine’s List of Top Attorneys
• Designated a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers
• Senior Editor, Alabama Law Review
• John A. Campbell Moot Court Board
• University of Alabama Public Interest Institute
• Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society
• Alpha Epsilon Lambda Professional Honors Society
• Alabama and Birmingham Bar Associations
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Outdoor Writer's Association of America
• Freshwater Land Trust Junior Board

Quotations & Citations

Annotated Statutes

• Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 12 sec 5C

  Law Reviews

• Pulling the Plug of Health Care Fraud: The False Claims Act After Rockwell and Allison Engine, 12 DePaul J. Health Care L. 277 (2009)
• A Carrot for the Lawyer: Providing Economic Incentives for In-House Lawyers in a Sarbanes-Oxley Regime, 21 Geor. J. Legal Ethics 913 (2008)
• Law in a Networked World: Blowing the Whistle on Avoiding Use Taxes in Online Purchases, 2008 U Chi Legal F 453 (2008)
• Prosecutorial Indiscretion: Encouraging the Department of Justice to Rein in Out-of-Control Qui Tam Litigation Under the False Claims Act, 76 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1233 (2008)
• Corporate Responsibility and State False Claims Acts: Evaluating the Use of Qui Tam Proceedings to Revoke the Charters of Corporate Polluters, 12 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 267 (2008)
• The Role of Qui Tam Actions Under the False Claims Act in Preventing and Deterring Fraud Against the Government, 15 U. Miami Bus. L. Rev. 273 (2007)
• The Moral Hazard Problem With Privatization of Public Enforcement: The Case of Pharmaceutical Fraud, 40 U. Mich. J. L. Reform 281 (2007)
• Beyond Protection: Invigorating Incentives for Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate and Securities Fraud Whistleblowers, 87 B.U.L. Rev. 91 (2007)
• A Key Time for Qui Tam: The False Claims Act and Alabama, 58 Ala. L. Rev. 1199 (2007)
• Fraud and Federalism: Overlapping Jurisdictions, Overlapping Crimes: Federalism and False Claims, 28 Cardozo L. Rev. 1599 (2007)
• Qui Tam Provisions and the Public Interest: An Empirical Analysis, 107 Colum. L. Rev. 949 (2007)
• Moral Messengers: Delegating Prosecutorial Power, 59 SMU L. Rev. 321 (2006)

  Legal Briefs

• Abuzaid v. Pier 39, 2008 CA App. Ct. Briefs 22629, 2009 CA App. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 166 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. Feb 9, 2009)
• California ex. Rel. Hindin v. Hewlett, 2006 CA App. Ct. Briefs 14629, 2007 CA App. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 1161 (Cal. App. Feb 23, 2007)

  Periodicals, Industry Magazines, and Newspapers

• The Minnesota False Claims Act: Is it Minnesota Nice?, 14 Bench & Bar of Minnesota (2010)
• Lawyers for Latifi Pursuing Damages, Huntsville Times (Sept. 22, 2009)
• Export Control Laws Worry Academics, Nature Magazine, Vol 461 (September 10, 2009)
• New York State Law Regulations Mandate Effective Compliance Programs for Hospitals, BNA Health Law Reporter (Aug. 6, 2009)
• Whistleblower Case Involving Turbocharging Goes Forward, BNA Health Care Compliance Guide, Vol 9 (June 15, 2009)
• Whistleblower-Initiated Enforcement Actions Against Health Care Fraud and Abuse in The United States, 1996-2005, 149 Annals of Internal Medicine 342 (American College of Physicians 2008)
• High-Profile Lawyers Spin Out of Big Firms, Form New Ones, Birmingham Business Journal (Nov. 28, 2008)
• The Curious Case of Alex Latifi, ABA Journal (Oct. 1, 2008)
• U.S. Attorney Disputes Misconduct in Arms Export Case, Bloomberg (July 28, 2008)
• Feds Knock: A Business is Lost, USA Today (July 10, 2008)
• A False Claims Act is Finally Enacted in Georgia: What Georgia Lawyers Should Know About the State False Medicaid Claims Act, 13 Ga. Bar J. 12 (2007)
• For a complete list with links to articles, visit press room.

Recent Publications & Speaking Engagements

• Faculty – American Bar Association International Law Section, Annual Meeting, Washington D.C. (April 2009)
• Faculty – American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime, San Francisco, California (March 2009)
• Author – “A First-Hand Look at Effective Defense Trial Strategies in a Criminal Arms Export Case,” White Collar Crime 2009, American Bar Association (2009)
• Speaker – Intellectual Property Law Update, National Business Institute, Birmingham, Alabama (October 2008)
• Speaker – American Bar Association Export Controls and Sanctions Committee, Washington D.C. (July 2008)
• Co-Host – American Bar Association Intellectual Property Roundtable, Birmingham, Alabama (June 2008)
• Author – "The Axion Case: How a Rare Defense Victory May Shape the Future Of Arms Export Control Act Prosecutions and Defense Trial Strategies," BNA White Collar Crime Report, Bureau of National Affairs (2008)
• Presenter – "Government Investigations and Corporations: Three Recent Developments," Federal Bar Association's 34th Annual Government Acquisition Symposium, Huntsville, Alabama (November 2006) (with Henry Frohsin)
• Author – "Spotlight: States, Statutes, and Fraud," False Claims Act & Qui Tam Quarterly Review (2006) (with Bucy, Eubanks, & Raspanti)
• Author – "States, Statutes, and Fraud: An Empirical Study of Emerging State False Claims Acts," Tulane Law Review (2005) (with Bucy, Eubanks, & Raspanti)

Admissions

• Alabama
• United States Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
• U.S. District Courts, Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama

Education

• University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2005
• University of Mississippi, M.A., Southern Studies, 1996
• Furman University, B.A., 1994

Reported Cases
Ex parte James Allen Harrison, Jr., 2010 Ala. LEXIS 69 (Ala. 2010); United States v. Certain Real Prop., 579 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2009); Lloyd Noland Found., Inc. v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., 277 Fed. Appx. 923 (11th Cir. 2008);United States v. Certain Real Property, 566 F. Supp. 2d 1252 (N.D. Ala. 2008); United States v. Certain Real Property, 543 F. Supp. 2d 1291 (N.D. Ala. 2008); United States v. Latifi, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97554 (N.D. Ala. June 11, 2007); Taylor v. Sanibel, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33219 (S.D. Ala. 2007); Pigott v. Sanibel, 508 F. Supp. 2d 1028 (S.D. Ala. 2007); State of Alabama v. Abbott Labs, et al., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80446 (M.D. Ala. 2006)

Contact
Jim Barger
jim@frohsinbarger.com
tel: 205.933.4006
fax: 205.933.4008
download vCard