Foley & Mansfield has added two practice areas and four attorneys to its Michigan operations.
Joining from Troy, Mich.-based Frank Haron Weiner are partners David Haron, who will lead the firm's new qui tam practice, and Melinda Balian, who will head its health care practice.
Haron, who works from Minneapolis-based Foley & Mansfield's Detroit and Grand Rapids offices, represents whistleblowers in lawsuits involving the False Claims Act and in qui tam actions, in which individuals help prosecute fraud claims in health care, securities, tax and government contracts. In 2011, he represented the plaintiff in a qui tam lawsuit against GE Healthcare that resulted in a $30 million settlement of Medicare fraud claims.
Balian represents physicians, other health care professionals and health care entities in contract, employment and regulatory matters.
Joining Haron and Balian from Frank Haron Weiner are attorneys Mercedes Dordeski and Maro Bush.
Adding attorneys in Michigan is part of the firm's strategic growth plan, said Foley & Mansfield partner Gary Sharp, who leads about 18 attorneys in the firm's Michigan offices.
He said the combination of transactional, health care and litigation experience that the attorneys bring is key to that growth, especially in Western Michigan.
With about 130 attorneys, Foley & Mansfield also has offices in Chicago; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Oakland, Calif.; St. Louis, Mo.; and Seattle.
