Geoffrey R. Garinther

Government Experience

• Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

Representative Matters

• Represented a law firm in parallel federal and state investigations of bribery allegations of state officials made against two firm partners, representing the firm’s interests during a four-week trial of the partners. The law firm was not charged
• Defended a Washington, DC law firm against an effort to obtain discovery from four of its lawyers who had conducted an internal investigation for a multinational pharmaceutical company.
• Led a team that conducted shareholder litigation against three former officers of Tampa-based WellCare Health Plans, Inc., following a Zapata investigation into claims on behalf of an independent director of WellCare
• Seeking injunctive relief in federal court in Maryland on behalf of Ahmadiyya Muslim seniors seeking to build a retirement community
• Co-led a Venable team in defending against a five-year investigation by DOJ and the FDA into criminal and civil claims against an India-based generic drug manufacturer, ultimately negotiating a comprehensive settlement that included resolution of the criminal investigation and a qui tam False Claims Act case, for which the company paid a total of $500 million in fines, and which allowed the company to exercise its first-to-file right to market atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) in the United States
• Represented executives of a pharmaceutical company in a DOJ investigation of alleged off-label promotions, potential violations of the False Claims Act, in a case in which no action was taken against any of the individuals
• Represented individuals in antitrust investigations conducted by DOJ into price-fixing allegations concerning TV pricing.  No action was taken against any of those individuals
• Court-appointed to represent a man serving a life sentence for murder, Geoff obtained a new trial in the district court on Brady grounds before that decision was overturned in the Fourth Circuit.  The case was the subject of a 10-part podcast, Convicted

Education

• J.D. University of Pennsylvania Law School 1984
• B.A. magna cum laude Washington College 1981

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Maryland

Clerk Experience

• Honorable Marvin H. Smith Maryland Court of Appeals 1984 1985

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Federal Bar Association
• Member, Maryland State Bar Association 
• Permanent member, Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
• Chair, Bench-Bar Liaison Committee, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• Lectured as a defense attorney at the DOJ’s National Advocacy Center
• Writes extensively on corporate governance and homeland security issues
  
   

• Included in Benchmark Litigation's "Local Litigation Stars" 2012, 2013, 2019 - 2020
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2013 - 2020
• Recipient, Maryland Chapter of the FBA Peter A. DiRito Award, 2017
• Included in Washington DC Super Lawyers, 2017 - 2019
• Included in Maryland Super Lawyers, 2008 - 2018
• Recipient, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland's Pro Bono Award, 2004
• Voted by readers of the Daily Record as one of 10 Maryland lawyers "you’d want for your defense," 2002
• AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
• Included in Benchmark Litigation's national rankings, White Collar Crime
  
   

Pro Bono

• Represents indigent criminal defendants, often working with the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Volunteerism

• Active in the Baltimore community, where he has served on nonprofit boards (Humanim and WorkFirst), and chairs the federal court’s Bench-Bar Liaison Committee