Erica Williamson Barnes

Erica is an accomplished litigator and investigator and a thoughtful advisor with significant experience in both government and private practice and an emphasis on healthcare. Erica’s current practice is largely focused on guiding clients in the highly regulated healthcare industry through actual or threatened government investigations and prosecutions, qui tam litigation, and regulatory action. In recent years, Erica has represented doctors, sales professionals, and companies involved in home health, pain management, compound pharmacy, lab testing, orthopedics, and the sale of durable medical equipment in matters involving alleged health care fraud, illegal opioid prescribing, and violations of the False Claims Act, Stark Law, and Anti-Kickback Statute. Recent representative matters include:

• United States v. Turney, 5:19-cr-00150 (N.D. Ala.) – two week trial of family medicine physician on opioid related offenses resulting in sentence of probation
• Represented physician investigated for false claims act conspiracy involving compound pharmacy resulting in criminal declination
• Represented DME sales executive in internal AKS investigation
• Represented DME sales employee in civil qui tam investigation
• Representing DME company owner in criminal AKS and healthcare fraud matter
• Representing physicians and investors in compound pharmacy investigations
• Represented medical billing company in reference lab investigation
• Representing home health provider in qui tam litigation
  

While Erica’s current practice has a healthcare focus, she has experience in a wide variety of areas with a broad client base. Erica has handled white collar matters involving securities, mail and wire fraud, bribery, antitrust violations, trade secrets violations, embezzlement, money laundering, narcotics and firearms offenses, cybercrime and cryptocurrency, child exploitation, elder abuse, and non-healthcare criminal and civil false claims. She has litigated individual and class actions involving contract, employment, shareholder, and securities claims.

Erica rejoined Maynard Cooper in 2018 after serving for four years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. As an AUSA Erica worked with a multitude of federal agencies and state and local task forces to prosecute traditional criminal and white collar matters. Prior to joining Maynard Cooper as an Associate in 2010, Erica served as Special Prosecutor in the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office in Atlanta and a law clerk to the late Honorable Owen Forrester in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Erica also maintains a full docket of appointed criminal cases as a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the Northern District of Alabama and is actively involved in white collar and criminal defense organizations locally, regionally, and nationally.

Compliance and Internal Investigations

In her compliance and investigations practice, Erica advises clients in a wide range of industries from healthcare to manufacturing across the firm’s national footprint. She assists clients in assessing risk and designing, implementing, and maintaining effective compliance programs so that they can prevent, detect, investigate and fix problems before they result in government investigations and litigation. Erica also helps clients prepare to quickly and efficiently defend themselves to the public, the government, and other stakeholders if problems do arise. Much of Erica’s current practice, focuses on pre-transaction financial crimes diligence, post-transaction implementation, and internal investigations for private equity firms and their portfolio companies in highly regulated industries like healthcare.

Government Investigations

Erica represents individuals or entities who are brought into state or federal government investigations as witnesses, victims, or potential targets. She assists clients with (1) understanding their own risk and potential for criminal prosecution or civil exposure; (2) understanding how a criminal investigation may impact their business, reputation, or other pending legal matters; (3) negotiating and responding to time and cost-intensive grand jury subpoenas and other requests for documents or testimony; (4) responding to interview requests, search warrants, and other forms of unanticipated government contact; (5) addressing asset seizures; and (6) advocating for their rights as victims.

Criminal Prosecutions and Government and Qui Tam Lead False Claims Litigation

Erica has represented individuals from all walks of life charged with criminal violations. She is a tireless advocate for her clients because she understands the impact a criminal case can have on an individual’s family, business, finances, and physical and mental health. Erica regularly negotiates favorable dismissals, plea agreements, cooperation agreements, and sentences for her clients, but she is not afraid to litigate a matter through trial if necessary. Erica has successfully tried numerous cases to a jury in state and federal court as both prosecutor and defense counsel. Erica also understands that the specter of a criminal case can have a huge impact on civil or administrative litigation and on the individuals and companies involved. She uses her trial experience and her understanding of criminal matters to help her clients better navigate civil and administrative actions with a criminal component.

Affiliations

• American Bar Association: Criminal Justice Section
• Women in White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) (Co-Chair Tennessee/Alabama Chapter)
• Birmingham Bar Association: Criminal Justice Section
• Alabama State Bar: Criminal Justice Section, White Collar Crime Committee (Co-Chair), State Bar Leadership Forum

Civic Involvement

• Vestavia Planning and Zoning Commission (Chair)
• Junior League of Birmingham
• Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church
• Girl Scouts of America

• October 27, 2021: 36^th Annual ABA White Collar Crime Institute: “Significant Legal Developments in the South Region”
• September 9, 2020: Virtual 2020 ABA Southeast Regional White Collar Crime Institute: “Significant Legal Developments in the South Region“
• September 15, 2020: Alabama State Bar White Collar Crime Committee: “How to Get Paid: Setting Retainers, Finding Coverage, and Other Financial Aspects of White Collar Representation”
• October 28, 2020: Alabama State Bar White Collar Crime Committee: “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know: Lesser Known But Nevertheless Invaluable Tips for Handling White Collar Cases”
• September 5, 2019: Big Data: The Evolution of Healthcare, RICO and Money Laundering Investigations, Panelist, ABA Southeastern White Collar Crime Institute
• July 17, 2019: White Collar Criminal Practice: Planning for a Career on Either Side, Alabama State Bar, Panelist, White Collar Crime Subcommittee
• June 13, 2019: Keeping it Out: Exploring Successful Strategies to Suppress Emails, Text Messages and Other Electronic Evidence, Speaker, Alabama State Bar, White Collar Crime Subcommittee CLE
• January 16, 2019: How Virtual Currency & The Dark Web are Impacting Financial Crime in Alabama, Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) - Alabama Chapter
• December 4, 2018: Beyond the Statute: Winning Strategies for Relators and Defendants in False Claims Act Cases, Moderator, Alabama State Bar, White Collar Crime Subcommittee CLE
• October 26, 2018: What To Do When the Government Shows Up, 64th Annual Human Resources Management Conference, Birmingham, AL