Lincoln's Law Advocate is the False Claims Law Practice of Brian Wojtalewicz. Brian has 25 years of experience recovering substantial settlements and verdicts for whistleblowers. His advocacy has achieved settlements in over 95% of his cases.

Lincoln's Law Advocate | Brian Wojtalewicz
 

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • Minnesota District Court

  • Minnesota Supreme Court

  • US District Court - Minnesota

  • U.S. District Court - Massachusetts

  • United States Court of Appeals - 1st Circuit

  • United States Court of Appeals - 8th Circuit

  • United States Supreme Court

 

Community Involvement

Brian was the founder and host of "Legal Lines" from 1985 to 2001. Brian and guest lawyers educated thousands of Americans on their legal rights in this live, call-in TV show on Pioneer Public TV, KWCM, one of the PBS stations in Minnesota. Brian also volunteered his time in 2005 as host for Pioneer Public TV's 3-part series on the dangers of methamphetamine to our children and families.

Brian has been active as a board member and chair of CURE (Clean Up The River Environment), the non-profit, grassroots citizen organization that promotes conservation in the upper Minnesota River area.

For over seven years, Brian has been a volunteer speaker to local driver's education classes. He has emphasized the need for safe driving to hundreds of 15 year olds. Brian has also volunteered his time to teach canoe safety to young people as part of a bi-annual safety camp. The firm has also sponsored summer sports leagues for children, and Brian has been a voluntary coach for kid's baseball and basketball. The firm has been regularly supporting local area food shelves and the Toys for Tots program.

Brian is unique even among false claims (qui tam) attorneys in the country in having won a jury trial on a false claims case. The False Claim Act damages and penalties for a frauding corporation can usually be so severe that when the evidence is strong against it, the case usually settles.

In 2001, Brian and his paralegal team convinced a federal district court jury in Minneapolis that a conglomerate of nursing homes and group homes had committed 11 different Medicaid fraud schemes. The jury also held that the corporation had wrongfully retaliated against his client for reporting the fraud, and our client eventually collected a high 6-figure compensation judgment as a result of the trial.

Walgreens Settlement

In 2008, Brian was the lead attorney on the legal team that achieved a $9.9 million settlement against the giant pharmacy chain Walgreens for the whistleblowing pharmacists Daniel Bieurance and Neil Thompson. 

2011 CVS Settlement 

In 2011, Brian was the lead attorney on the legal team that achieved a $17.5 million settlement in a False Claims Act case against the pharmacy chain CVS for whistleblower pharmacist Stephani LeFlore.

2019 CVS Settlement 

Brian was the lead attorney of the team that represented two courageous pharmacists who turned in the CVS mega-corporation to the State of Texas Medicaid Fraud Unit, based on their evidence and allegation that CVS had billed Texas Medicaid by overcharging on scores of generic drugs. Brian and the pharmacists assisted the Texas Attorney General’s office in its successful prosecution that resulted in a $22 Million settlement against CVS, reached in the middle of a jury trial in Austin in June 2019. 

Awards and Honors

Brian is an emeritus member of the Board of Governors of the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association (now the Minnesota Association for Justice). He is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association, and among 6% of lawyers who were selected as a Leading Lawyer and a Super Lawyer in surveys taken of Minnesota lawyers. He was elected President of the Minnesota Association for Justice in 2011. Formerly called the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association, the MAJ is the advocacy and training organization of the best civil plaintiff trial lawyers in Minnesota.

Brian has been a guest speaker at the American Trial Lawyers Assn. annual conventions in New York City (1995) and Boston (2004), the Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers in Miami Beach (1996) and for many trial lawyer seminars in Minnesota. He was honored as an Attorney-of-the-Year in 2001 by Minnesota Lawyer Magazine, and as the 2002 Member-of-the-Year by the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Assn. (now the MAJ)

Brian is rated "AV" by the respected, nationwide Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. The ratings are developed by obtaining confidential opinions from lawyer adversaries and judges before whom the lawyer has appeared. An "A" ability rating is the "very high to preeminent" category, the highest rating possible. It signifies that the lawyer has reached the highest levels of skill and integrity. The "V" rating is the highest for adherence to ethical standards, reliability and diligence.

Brian was appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court for service from 1990 to 1998 on the Minnesota Judicial Selection Commission, which was responsible for interviewing and assessing lawyer candidates for judgeships, and making recommendations on appointment. From 1996-99, Brian was a member of the Minnesota Eighth Judicial District Ethics Committee, which investigated ethics charges against lawyers.