Overview
Paul M. Thompson is the Managing Partner of the Washington, DC office and also serves as the Firm’s Pro Bono Litigation Partner. Paul previously served on McDermott’s Executive and Management Committees and, from 2011 to 2015, he also served a previous term as Managing Partner of the Washington, DC office.
Paul represents clients in complex criminal and civil matters. He has extensive experience in internal investigations, voluntary disclosures, grand jury investigations, appellate practice and congressional investigations, with a particular focus on clients in the healthcare industry.
To read Paul’s full biography in Japanese please click here.
- Complex Criminal and Civil Healthcare Matters: Paul represents healthcare clients that are the subject of criminal investigations and civil enforcement proceedings. A significant part of Paul’s practice is devoted to representing clients in matters involving allegations under the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law. In addition, Paul helps clients conduct internal investigations, file self-disclosures, update compliance programs and litigate cases under Administrative Procedure Act.
- Complex Criminal and Civil Antitrust Matters: Paul also represents clients in criminal antitrust investigations conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ), and civil antitrust investigations conducted by State Attorneys General. Paul represents these same clients in parallel civil antitrust class actions. Additionally, he regularly trains clients on antitrust compliance issues, assisting them in revise their antitrust compliance programs.
- Congressional Investigations: Paul represents clients in high-profile congressional investigations, including before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- Appellate: Paul has served as lead appellate counsel in more than 100 cases in nearly all of the US courts of appeals and before the US Supreme Court, including handling cases at the certiorari and merits stages. Among other significant matters, Paul represented Arthur Andersen before the US Supreme Court in a case involving the interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act.
In addition, Paul serves as the Firm’s Pro Bono Litigation Partner. In this role, Paul works with the Firm’s Pro Bono and Community Service Partner, senior management, and other stakeholders to identify and develop pro bono litigation projects in a wide array of substantive areas that impact the communities in which we work and live.
From 2002 to 2005, Paul served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Appellate Section of the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania. From 2005 to 2007, he worked as counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee, where he worked on the Senate confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Paul has also served as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Brooks Smith, former Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and current Chief Judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Paul has published articles in the National Law Journal, Roll Call, Executive Counsel, Corporate Counsel, the Yale Law Journal Pocket Part and the Vanderbilt Law Review. He has been quoted in top legal and business publications such as the Washington Business Journal, The Hill, Roll Call and Am Law Daily, and has served as a panelist at the National Press Club.
Results
- Represents several companies in various industries in antitrust criminal investigations being conducted by the DOJ (2014 to present)
- Represented a Fortune 500 healthcare company before the US Court of Federal Claims in pursuing a claim for underpayments against the Department of Veterans Affairs, resulting in a settlement payment to the company of $538 million (2013 to present)
- Represented national healthcare provider in putative class action filed in federal and state court in North Dakota related to Hepatitis C outbreak involving more than 50 individuals, resulting in voluntary dismissal of class action allegations and all federal claims (2014-2016)
- Represented Fortune 500 healthcare company in internal investigation related to Hepatitis C outbreak at medical facility, including coordination of defense strategy with local counsel, expert retention, and resolution of matters with plaintiffs and State Department of Health (2009)
- Represented Fortune 500 healthcare company in criminal and civil investigation involving murder of 5 patients by rogue employee, resulting in no criminal or civil penalties imposed on company (2008-2009)
- Represented a Fortune 500 healthcare company in a False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute civil and criminal investigation, leading to a successful settlement (2010 to 2014)
- Successfully represented a former Majority Leader of the New York State Senate in a jury trial in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York, resulting in acquittal on five counts and reversal by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of the remaining two, United States v. Bruno, 661 F.3d 733 (2d Cir. 2011)
- Successfully represented Arthur Andersen before the US Supreme Court in a case involving interpretation of the Federal Arbitration Act, Arthur Andersen v. Carlisle, 129 S.Ct. 1896 (2009)
- Filed amicus brief on behalf of the Mattachine Society of Washington DC, in support of petitioners in marriage ban cases before the US Supreme Court (2015); the brief resulted in significant news coverage, including the release of a Yahoo documentary entitled “Uniquely Nasty: The US Government’s War on Gays” by Mike Isikoff
- Successfully represented the Mattachine Society in FOIA litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, obtaining the release of FBI records on the firing of LGBT Americans under Executive Order 10450 (2016 to 2017)
Recognitions
- District of Columbia Courts, Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2023
- Benchmark Litigation, Litigation Star, White-collar and Appellate, 2013 to 2020
- “Recommended” Lawyer in GCR100 Global Elite, Antitrust, 2018
- The Legal 500 United States 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019 – praised for “thorough subject matter expertise”
- Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing 2011, for authoring, “Managing the Budget of an International White-Collar Investigation”
- National Law Journal, Appellate Hot List
Community
- Sandy Spring Friends School, board of trustees (2020-2023)
- Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, board of directors (2012-2019)
Credentials
Education
Harvard Law School, JD, magna cum laude, 1998
Harvard College, AB, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1991
Admissions
District of Columbia
Pennsylvania
Courts / Agencies
Supreme Court of the United States
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
US Court of Federal Claims