ABOUT

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Jim Griffin is an accomplished trial lawyer and healthcare lawyer. Jim has more than 30 years of experience representing clients in civil and criminal courts at the federal and state level and representing healthcare providers in some of the most challenging of legal matters.

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In his criminal practice, Jim has been the lead trial counsel in a number of cases featured in national and state news publications, magazines and television programs. One of Jim's criminal trials was broadcast on a popular television cable channel devoted to court trials, and his client was acquitted before a nationwide audience. Jim has also obtained multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements for clients in civil cases.

 

He has extensive experience representing clients charged with federal crimes, such as mail and wire fraud, healthcare fraud, mortgage and securities fraud, public corruption, government contractor and procurement fraud, and criminal tax charges. He represents medical doctors, nurses, dentists and other licensed professionals charged with administrative violations.

 

In his healthcare practice, Jim has been at the forefront of legal challenges facing healthcare providers. He was trial and appellate counsel for Tuomey Hospital in the landmark Stark/False Claims Act case, Drakeford v. Tuomey Hospital, 792 F.3d 364 (4th Cir. 2015). Jim also successfully challenged South Carolina’s Medicaid payment practices on behalf of a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center, Genesis Health Care, Inc. v. Soura, 2017 WL 698610 (US Dist. SC 2017). 

 

Jim was one of the first attorneys in the Carolinas to advocate on behalf of physician groups for compensation from hospitals for providing on-call coverage in a hospital’s emergency department. He has arbitrated disputes between physicians and hospitals before the American Healthcare Lawyers Association. Jim also has extensive experience in False Claims Act litigation on behalf of both whistleblowers and defendants in cases alleging violations of Stark and the Anti-Kickback Act, as well as upcoding and other billing improprieties.

 

In addition, Jim represents physicians and other healthcare professionals who are under investigation by the federal and state authorities. Recently, Jim represented an international corporation and its principal in a federal criminal investigation into marketing of DME braces. This investigation is known as “Operation Brace Yourself” and involved the extensive use of telemedicine to obtain prescriptions.  Jim also appears frequently before the South Carolina Medical Board and other healthcare licensing boards on behalf of clients.

 

In 2018, Jim was honored by the South Carolina Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates as the “Trial Lawyer of the Year.” He is currently listed as a Premier Healthcare Attorney and South Carolina Super Lawyers® has recognized him for five (5) straight years for his work in the area of civil defense. He is rated AV Preeminent for the highest level of professional excellence by Martindale Hubbell.

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EDUCATION

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• Wake Forest University, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Arts in economics, 1984

• University of South Carolina School of Law (Law Review, Order of Coif, Order of Wig and Robe, Student Honor Council), Juris Doctor, 1987

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BAR ADMISSIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
 

• South Carolina, since 1987

• U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina, 1987

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1989

• U.S. Supreme Court, 1998

• United States Court of Federal Claims, 2009

• American Association For Justice

• National Association of Criminal Defenses Lawyers

• South Carolina Association for Justice

• American Board of Trial Advocates, inducted January 2016

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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
 

• Law Clerk, United States District Court Judge, Honorable Dennis W. Shedd-1990-1992

• Assistant United States Attorney, District of South Carolina-1992-1994

• Private Practice-1987-1990 and 1995 to present

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PRESENTATIONS
 

• “Sentencing Strategies in Federal Court,” S.C. Association For Justice, Annual Meeting, 2009

• “Effective Use of Polygraphs,” S.C. Bar Criminal Hot Tips, 2003

• “Selecting and Using Expert Witnesses in Federal Court,” BRI, 2003

• “Civil Litigation-Defense,” S.C. Bar “Bridge the Gap,” 2002

• “Securities Fraud Prosecutions,” White Collar Crimes Symposium, SC Bar CLE 1995

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SELECTED REPORTED CASES
 

• Brandt v. Gooding, 636 F.3d 124, 4th Cir.( 2011)

• State v. Brandt, ___ S.C. ___, 713 S.E.2d 591 (2011)

• Brown v. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., 2009 WL 4809426 (D.S.C. Dec. 9, 2009)

• Martin v. Stewart, 499 F.3d 360, 364 (4th Cir. 2007)

• Jinks v. Richland County, 538 U.S. 456, on remand, 355 S.C. 341 (2003)

• Martin v. Condon, 324 S.C. 183, 478 S.E.2d 272, 276 (1996)

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Disclaimer: The preceding examples are intended only to be representative of past experiences practicing law. These examples are not intended, and cannot be relied upon, to predict results in any other case.