Michael McCollum is senior counsel with Foley & Lardner LLP and a member of the firm's Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution; Government Enforcement, Compliance & White Collar Defense; Privacy, Security & Information Management; and Labor & Employment Practices.
Mr. McCollum's practice is concentrated on complex civil litigation and on internal investigations.
Mr. McCollum has significant experience in the area of the False Claims Act, where he has defended and counseled companies in the industries of health care, defense, construction, and energy in connection with government investigations, government actions, and private qui tam actions.
In the area of business litigation, Mr. McCollum has a particular focus on defending class actions and on matters related to the health care industry. He is also experienced in matters involving unfair competition and false advertising, trade secrets, breach of contract, fraud, insurance coverage, ERISA, products liability, and corporate and partnership disputes.
Mr. McCollum is a member of the firm's China Practice, through which he handles litigation and white collar matters for Chinese and Taiwanese corporate and individual clients pending in the United States.
Mr. McCollum has significant experience handling matters on appeal, where he has drafted briefs for the California Supreme Court, California Court of Appeal, and Ninth Circuit.
Mr. McCollum also has broad experience with matters pending before various arbitral bodies. In this capacity, he has briefed important arbitration-related issues both at the trial court and at the Ninth Circuit. He is also a member of the California State Bar's Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Mr. McCollum enjoys volunteering on pro bono cases in the areas of low income tenant representation, elderly representation, and political asylum.
Previously, Mr. McCollum has served as an extern to the Honorable Margaret M. Morrow, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; to the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel, International Affairs section; and to the United States Attorney's Office, Criminal Division, for the Central District of California. Mr. McCollum has also clerked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.
Mr. McCollum is a member of the California State Bar, Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association, International Section.
Recent Publications include:
· "The Future of Renewable Energy and the False Claims Act," co-authored, Law360 Expert Analysis (March 2012)
· "How Employers Faced with Potential False Claims Act Liability May Avoid Liability for Whistleblower Retaliation," Labor and Employment Law Weekly Update (January 2012)
· "DMEPOS Supplier Standards and the False Claims Act: Compliance Strategies and Litigation Approaches," co-authored, HCCA Compliance Today (August 2011)
· "The Decline of the Collective Knowledge Doctrine," co-authored, Law360 Expert Analysis (May 2011)
· "A Reasoned Approach to Identifying Federal Health Care Program Overpayments," co-authored, HCCA Compliance Today (February 2011)
Mr. McCollum received his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, in 2000, magna cum laude. He also received a diploma in the International Program of Political and Social Sciences from the Institute des Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po.) of Paris in 1999. Mr. McCollum received his law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2004, where he was co-chief articles editor and symposium editor for the UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs.