The law firm Ober|Kaler is pleased to announce that Thomas H. Barnard has joined the firm as a principal in the Litigation Group.

Tom is a former Assistant United States Attorney and Army officer who brings over twenty years of government experience to his practice. With a focus on litigation and health law, Tom represents clients in government investigations and litigation, including qui tams under the False Claims Act and related administrative proceedings. He also advises clients with regard to government contracts and investigations of alleged procurement fraud, including those involving parallel criminal investigations.

Prior to entering private practice, Tom served in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Maryland. During his tenure there, he served as counsel for the United States in numerous investigations under the False Claims Act, focusing on government contract and health care fraud. He also served as counsel in a wide range of defensive civil litigation for the United States, handling all aspects of cases through discovery, motions, mediation, trial and appeal. As the office E-Discovery coordinator, Tom served on the Department of Justice E-Discovery Working Group, on the District of Maryland Sub-Committee on E-discovery, and as a lecturer on e-discovery at the National Advocacy Center.

Tom's military career is an integral part of his current practice, where he relies on decades of military service to better understand the unique needs of clients who regularly interact or do business with the government. Prior to his military retirement, Tom was a Judge Advocate in the Maryland National Guard, where he supervised legal planning and support for the Guard's domestic operations. Before joining the Guard, Tom served on Active Duty, where he litigated criminal and administrative matters as both government counsel and defense counsel, served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, and worked extensively as a legal advisor for matters related to military intelligence. Tom initially served as a military police officer overseas before being selected for the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps.

He is a graduate of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (JD, summa cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2001) and the United States Military Academy, Distinguished Cadet, (BS, 1995).

About Ober|Kaler

Ober|Kaler is a national law firm providing integrated regulatory, transactional and litigation services to financial, health care, construction and other business clients. The firm has more than 110 attorneys, and offices in Baltimore, Washington, DC and Falls Church. For more information please visit www.ober.com.