ATTORNEY INFORMATION
Joseph P. Griffith, Jr.
Joe Griffith has over 35 years of legal experience in federal and state court. A former federal prosecutor, Griffith has tried numerous federal and state court cases. His practice is devoted exclusively to litigation, with a focus on whistleblower - qui tam cases under the False Claims Act, federal white collar criminal defense, and select catastrophic personal injury and complex business claims.
Griffith was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of South Carolina where he prosecuted white collar crimes, drug trafficking, firearms and environmental offenses. As a white collar criminal defense attorney, his practice focuses on complex antitrust crimes, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, campaign finance violations, commercial bribery, computer fraud, criminal tax fraud, import/export fraud, defense procurement fraud, environmental crimes, health care fraud, insurance fraud, public corruption, and securities fraud. He has extensive experience in federal grand jury investigations and corporate internal investigations. Past and present clients include publicly traded and privately held corporations, and/or their CEOs, COOs and CFOs. Griffith is the co-author of three books published by the South Carolina Bar Association: Health Care Fraud and Collateral Consequences, Third Edition (2019), Health Care Fraud and Collateral Consequences, Second Edition (2011), and Federal and State Securities Enforcement (2008). In the civil arena, Griffith has both prosecuted and defended complex, multi-million dollar securities, False Claims Act, business and personal injury claims.
Griffith has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, is a member of the Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers®, the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums®, has a 10.0 Superb Rating from AVVO, and he has been selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America®, a South Carolina Super Lawyer®, a S.C. Lawyers Weekly Go-To Lawyer, a Top 100 Bet-The-Company Litigator, and a Top 100 High Stakes Litigator.
Admitted to Practice:
- All South Carolina State Courts
- United States District Courts of South Carolina
- Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States Supreme Court
Education:
- University of South Carolina (J.D., 1982)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A.,1979)
Community Activities (Past and/or Present):
- St. Thomas More Legal Society - President
- Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Finance Council
- Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital Board of Directors
- Roper St. Francis Hospital Foundation Board of Directors
- United Services Organization Board of Directors
- Charleston Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
- Charleston Developers Council - Chairman, Board of Directors
- Charleston Private Industry Council - Chairman, Board of Directors
- Hibernian Society of Charleston Foundation - President, Board of Trustees
- Hibernian Society of Charleston - President, Chairman of Management Committee
- Leadership South Carolina Board of Regents
- Knights of Columbus
- Carolina Catholic Professionals
- South Carolina Irish Historical Society
- South Carolina Bar Foundation Fellow
- Ask-A-Lawyer Program Participant
Business Boards (Past):
- Prestress Concrete, Inc. Board of Directors
- South Atlantic Dredge Company Board of Directors
- Southeastern Wildlife Exposition Board of Directors
- Republic Bank Board of Directors
- Bank of Charleston Founding Board of Directors
- Comsouth Bank Board of Directors
- Carolina First Bank Charleston Advisory Board
Professional Memberships (Past and/or Present):
- American Bar Association
- Antitrust Section
- Criminal Justice Section
- American Health Lawyers Association
- Charleston County Bar Association
- Former Executive Committee Member
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association - South Carolina
- Board of Directors
- Chairman of the Qui Tam/False Claims Act Section
- South Carolina Bar Association
Former Member of the House of Delegates
- Criminal Law section
- Environmental and Natural Resources section
- Health Care section
Licenses:
- South Carolina
- Washington, D.C. (inactive)
Instructor:
- Former Department of Justice National Advocacy Center Instructor
- Criminal Trial Advocacy
- Civil Trial Advocacy
Representative Cases:
- United States ex rel. Lutz v. Berkeley HeartLab, Inc., 853 F.3d 131 (4th Cir. 2017)
- United States ex rel. Voris v. Genphar, Inc., 2017 WL 2349906 (D.S.C.)
- United States ex rel. Symoniak v. Ace Securities Corp., 2014 WL 1910876 (D.S.C.)
- United States ex rel. Blas v. Coastal Ambulance, LLC, Civil Action No. 2:13-cv-2895-RMG (D.S.C.)
- United States ex rel. Strickland v. Drayer Physical Therapy Institute, Civil Action No. 9:13-cv-1781-SB (D.S.C.)
- In re Force Protection, Inc. Derivative Litigation, 2012 WL 12985420 (D.S.C.)
- United States ex rel. Dobson v. Nason Medical Center, Civil Action No. 2:11-cv-93-RMG (D.S.C.)
- United States ex rel. Stephen Miller, MD v. Berkeley Family Practice, LLC, Civil Action No. 2:11-cv-1332-RMG (D.S.C.)
- Lebron v. Rumsfeld, 764 F.Supp.2d 787 (D.S.C. 2011)
- United States ex rel. Gorawski v. Berchtold USA, Civil Action No. 2:11-cv-2601-RMG (D.S.C.)
Continuing Legal Education Instructor/Speaking Engagements (through 2021):
| Conference Name |
Title |
Date |
| Autism Law Summit Columbia, S.C. |
Health Care Fraud and Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) |
2021 |
| Federal Bar Association - S.C. Chapter Introduction to Federal Practice |
Federal Criminal Practice |
2021 |
| Council of Autism Service Providers Annual Conference |
Criminal, Civil & Administrative Consequences Of Health Care Fraud |
2021 |
| Federal Bar Association - S.C. Chapter |
Discovery and Trial Issues in False Claims Act and Criminal Litigation Regarding Federal Health Care Fraud Cases |
2020 |
| Georgia Bar Health Care Fraud Institute |
Health Care Fraud & Collateral Consequences |
2019 |
| S.C. Bar & Federal Bar Association CLE |
Health Care Fraud & Collateral Consequences:
(1) Potential Civil Claims, Trials & Asset Freezes in
Health Care Fraud Cases; (2) Recent Trends &
Developments in Health Care Fraud Criminal
& Civil Cases
|
2019 |
| Autism Law Summit Jackson Hole, Wyoming |
The Basics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Provider Fraud: Potential Civil, Criminal &
Administrative Liability
|
2019 |
| S.C. Bar Convention Health Care Law Section CLE: Drugs and Lawsuits |
Developments in Healthcare Enforcement |
2019 |
| South Carolina Home Care and Hospice Care Association - Quality Roundtable |
The Basics of Hospice Fraud: Potential Civil, Criminal and Administrative Liability |
2019 |
| False Claims Act/Qui Tam Whistleblower Litigation Involving Health Care Providers |
Whistleblower Retaliation Claims Under FCA Section 3730(h) |
2018 |
| Current Trends in False Claims Act/Qui Tam Whistleblower Litigation |
First to File Bar in False Claims Act Cases |
2017 |
| National Institute on Health Care Fraud |
False Claims Act Trial Practice Demonstration
- U.S. ex rel. Drakeford v. Tuomey Hospital
|
2016 |
| False Claims Act/Qui Tam Whistleblower Litigation Involving Health Care Providers |
Health Care False Claims Act Qui Tam Cases:
Hot Topics from the Defense Perspective |
2016 |
| False Claims Act/Qui Tam Whistleblower Litigation Involving Health Care Providers |
Whistleblower Retaliation Claims under Section 3730(h) of the False Claims Act |
2016 |
| 2016 South Carolina Bar Convention |
Current False Claims Act Issues |
2016 |
| 2016 Federal Litigation & Qui Tam Conference |
False Claims Act Procedural Pitfalls and Defenses - First-to-File Bar |
2016 |
| S.C. Bar Health Care Law Section CLE |
Settling Qui Tam Claims |
2015 |
| S.C. Bar Health Care Law Section CLE |
Health Care Litigation - Ambulance Swapping Arrangements: False Claims Act Implications for Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Ambulance Companies |
2015 |
| Fraud Against The Government and Whistleblower Actions |
Fraud Against The Government and Whistleblower Actions |
2012 |
| American Bar Association, General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division |
Whistleblower Claims for Fraud Against the U.S. Government -- The Basics of the Federal False Claims Act |
2012 |
| Healthcare Law in the Federal Court |
Federal Fraud Enforcement of Healthcare Law after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act |
2011 |
| The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act |
Criminal Enforcement & Penalties under The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act |
2010 |
| Trial Lawyers Continuing Legal Education |
Basics of the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA") |
2008 |
| Federal and State Securities Enforcement |
Federal and State Securities Enforcement |
2008 |
| October Fraud Conference |
Healthcare Fraud Investigations and Prosecutions |
2006 |
Articles:
- Griffith, et al., Health Care Reform - Recent Developments in Fraud Enforcement, S.C. Lawyer 41-47 (Sept. 2010)
- Griffith, et al., Top Ten Pitfalls Encountered in Internal Investigations, Georgia State Bar Institute of Continuing Legal Education (2008)
- Griffith, Medical Malpractice Litigation and Federally Funded Health Centers: A Primer on the Federally Supported Health Centers Assistance Act, S.C. Lawyer 32-37 (Jan. 2003)
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