Hervé Gouraige is a Member of the Sills Cummis & Gross Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Gouraige practices in the areas of health care fraud litigation (False Claims Act cases), general commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense and internal corporate investigations. He has represented corporate and individual clients in civil and criminal matters in federal and state courts throughout the country. Mr. Gouraige is known for using his skills, experience and legal knowledge to develop innovative approaches to solve client problems without having to go to trial.
Examples of Innovative Approaches Used in Solving Clients' Problems
· In representing a world renowned entertainer in a civil dispute, Mr. Gouraige appreciated that his client's principal challenges in the litigation were the opportunity costs of the time devoted to the case, possible business disruption and potential adverse publicity of going through the civil discovery process. As a result, Mr. Gouraige crafted a creative proposal, accepted by the federal Bankruptcy Court. The court granted dismissal of all claims against Mr. Gouraige's client, saving his client tens of millions of dollars.
· In a major civil RICO case in the Southern District of New York, the protracted and costly discovery proceedings, coupled with the inability of the client to obtain a quick trial date of what was likely to be a trial of several months, led Mr. Gouraige to develop a new theory to assert a RICO counterclaim against a publicly held corporate plaintiff. The corporate plaintiff thereafter agreed to settle the case with Mr. Gouraige's client on favorable terms.
· In representing a health care client in a nationwide government investigation, Mr. Gouraige, to avoid his client having to go through a protracted and costly audit, devised a litigation strategy to seek a court ruling on the merits before the government agency conducted the audit. In that case, the Court of Appeals issued a decision that, while permitting the government agency to conduct an investigation of Mr. Gouraige's client, intimated that, on the merits, Mr. Gouraige's client probably had the better of the statutory construction argument. The investigation was thereafter settled on favorable terms to Mr. Gouraige's client.
· In criminal matters, realizing that even an acquittal never restores a client's reputation or remedies the harm to personal and business interests, Mr. Gouraige meets with prosecutors early in an investigation to discuss the alleged violations in an effort to avoid the ordeal of post-indictment public proceedings. As a result, his clients have rarely been criminally charged. With more than 30 criminal and civil trials, jury and non-jury, Mr. Gouraige is an experienced trial lawyer whose courtroom skills have been highly praised. After obtaining an acquittal for his client in a case in Salem, VA, the trial judge praised Mr. Gouraige's trial skills: "I might say to your counsel sitting next to you that I have been around a long time, some forty-six years at the bar, and I haven't heard a finer argument than he made."
Mr. Gouraige served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York under U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani (1984-91). He handled criminal cases involving business fraud, tax fraud, health care fraud and national security. In 1985, Mr. Gouraige was the first Assistant designated to handle health care fraud cases in the Southern District of New York. During his term as Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Gouraige was awarded the Superior Achievement Award by the Department of Health and Human Services for significant contribution in fighting fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the Department of Justice Director's Award for Superior Performance for his successful handling of a four-month bank fraud trial.
Mr. Gouraige is an active member of the bar and the community. On November 8, 2011, he was elected to a two-year term as president of the Harvard Law School Association of New Jersey. He is a member of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society, and a Trustee Emeritus (and former President) of the Board of Trustees of the Newark School of the Arts. He is a former member of the New Jersey and New York Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committees. Mr. Gouraige has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Urban League of Hudson County (New Jersey) and The Legal Aid Society in New York (2002 - 08). By appointment of the Mayor, Mr. Gouraige served on the Judicial Advisory Committee of New York City under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Mr. Gouraige has taught trial advocacy for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy at Hofstra University Law School, where he served as a Team Leader. He has also taught trial advocacy at Widener University School of Law and at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Mr. Gouraige lectures for the ABA, ALI-ABA and PLI on civil and criminal issues. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and he has written a number of articles for professional journals.
Representative Decisions
Wachtel v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 482 F.3d 225 (3d Cir. 2007)
4/2/2007
UMDNJ v. Corrigan, 347 F. 3d 57 (3d Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 542 U.S. 937 (2004)
10/17/2003
HVV Corporation v. Jackson Communications, Inc., Adv. No. 94-3104 (Bank. Ct; D. N. J. 1996)
3/29/1996
Sierra Rutile Ltd. v. Katz, 1995 WL 622691 (S.D.N.Y. 1995)
10/24/1995
United States v. Chuang, 897 F. 2d 646 (2d Cir. 1990)
12/28/1990
Arrington v. New York Times, 55 N. Y. 2d 433 (1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1146 (1983)
4/7/1982
Newsroom
Press Releases
Hervé Gouraige is New President of the Harvard Law School Association of New Jersey
11/14/2011
In The News Items
A Unique Perspective Makes for Innovative Defense Strategies
The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
12/1/2011
Presentations
Litigation Counsel of America Renaissance Symposium IV
Litigation Counsel of America
12/2/2011
American Health Lawyers Association's 2010 Annual Meeting and In-House Counsel Program
American Health Lawyers Association
6/27/2010
Risks to Directors and Trustees of Health Care & Life Sciences Companies: Corporate Compliance in a Distressed Economy
Seton Hall University School of Law
11/4/2009
Key Compliance Issues Facing Directors and Trustees of Health Care and Life Sciences Companies
4/22/2009
Internal Investigations in Law Firms
ALI-ABA
11/12/2008
The New Jersey False Claims Act: Perspectives and Insight
9/18/2008
Responding to and Managing Government Investigations of Medicare and Medicaid Providers
American Conference Institute
3/31/2008
Publications
Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices & Biologics: Health Care Fraud Enforcement, Strict Criminal Liability, and Responsible Corporate Officials
Bloomberg Law Reports - Health Law
9/6/2011
No Third-Party Action for Contribution or Implied Indemnification for Equitable Claims in False Claims Act Case
Bloomberg Law Reports - Health Law
7/11/2011
Summary of
United States ex rel Williams v. Renal Care Group
American Health Lawyers Association Practice Group Email Alert
6/14/2011
Honest Services Law Must Go
National Law Journal
1/18/2010
The Newest "Darling of the Modern Prosecutor's Nursery": Use of the Federal and State Federal False Claims Acts in the Health Care Industry
2010 Health Law and Compliance Update
1/1/2010
Defining RICO Enterprise after Boyle
New York Law Journal
9/8/2009
Affiliations
Member, American Bar Association, White Collar Crime Committee, Health Care Fraud and Abuse Subcommittee
Member, American Law Institute
Member, Federal Bar Council
Member, National Bar Association
Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
Member, New Jersey State Bar Association
Member, Garden State Bar Association
Member, New York State Bar Association
Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Member, New York Criminal Defense Council
Member, American Health Lawyers Association
Trustee Emeritus and former President of the Board of Trustees, Newark School of the Arts
President, Harvard Law School Association of New Jersey