NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Getnick & Getnick LLP announced today that Gregory Krakower, who recently served as Senior Advisor and Counselor to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, has joined the firm as Of Counsel. Mr. Krakower will play an important role in the firm’s whistleblower and False Claims Act practice, while also working on matters involving business integrity and independent monitorships.
Mr. Krakower conceived of and organized the New York State Attorney General’s Taxpayer Protection Bureau. Launched in 2011, the bureau was established to work with whistleblowers and bring False Claims Act cases against government contractors, financial institutions, corporate recipients of government funds, and large taxpayers that defraud New York State and local governments. Mr. Krakower supervised many significant whistleblower cases during his five years with the attorney general’s office. For example, he supervised the initiation and intervention of New York State in the whistleblower action against the Bank of New York-Mellon for allegedly defrauding New York government pension funds in connection with foreign currency transactions. This action resulted in a nation-wide $714 million settlement involving the state, the federal government, and private plaintiffs. He also led a groundbreaking False Claims Act case against a company for illegally outsourcing jobs overseas.
“The firm is extremely fortunate to bring on a person of Greg’s knowledge, talent, and reputation in False Claims Act matters,” said Getnick & Getnick Managing Partner Neil Getnick. “His experience in New York State government will bring added depth to the firm’s longstanding and robust whistleblower and business integrity practice. Greg has proven himself to be a dedicated and effective advocate for whistleblowers and sound public policy.”
Prior to working at the Attorney General’s office, Mr. Krakower was the Director of the New York State Senate Policy Group. In that role he was the lead counsel and strategist in drafting the critical amendments to the New York False Claims Act that made it the strongest in the country by, among other things, empowering whistleblowers to initiate lawsuits against large-scale tax cheats. He also authored the law requiring certain government contractors to notify their employees about the FCA whistleblower provisions. Once at the Attorney General’s office, he conceived and drafted the regulations implementing the FCA, including the strongest damages provision in the country.
“Getnick & Getnick has handled many of the nation’s largest and most important whistleblower cases and provides me an excellent platform for continuing my whistleblower work aimed at combating government fraud in New York and throughout the country,” Mr. Krakower said.
Mr. Krakower is an adjunct professor of Whistleblower Statutes & Corporate Fraud at Cardozo Law School, and has lectured on the False Claims Act and whistleblower laws to attorneys at Attorney’s General Offices, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, private firms, and New York bar associations.
In addition to working on False Claims Act matters, Mr. Krakower originated “Operation Integrity,” a first-of-its-kind joint task force that resulted in over 70 cases against corrupt public officials; drafted and negotiated a New York prescription drug abuse law (“I-STOP”); drafted and negotiated critical health insurance reforms (“Ian’s Law”); and drafted campaign finance regulations to expose “dark money” in politics.
Mr. Krakower graduated from Columbia Law School in 1999, where he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He practiced white collar criminal law in New York City at Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP and Clifford Chance US LLP. He also served as a federal law clerk for the Hon. Roanne L. Mann of the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York.
Getnick & Getnick is a Manhattan-based law firm dedicated to fighting fraud and promoting business integrity. The firm works with whistleblowers, government agencies and companies, guided by the principle that anti-fraud is not anti-business. The firm’s whistleblower cases have recovered more than $1 billion for taxpayers and clients have received record awards including the largest ever award for a single whistleblower.
Getnick & Getnick’s corporate monitoring engagements have helped safeguard integrity in areas as diverse as construction, thoroughbred horse racing and the World Trade Center clean-up. The firm counsels corporate clients to achieve immediate and long term solutions to business integrity issues. Its complex commercial litigations have recovered millions of dollars in defrauded funds for corporate clients on three continents.
The firm has expanded its work into the areas of international business integrity, transparency, corporate governance, and social responsibility. The firm includes a private global anti-fraud and corruption unit, focusing on international whistleblower cases.