Attorney Profile - Ray M. Shepard

Mr. Shepard is an experienced trial and appellate attorney whose practice emphasizes litigation of cases in both state and federal courts.  Mr. Shepard has extensive experience in the areas of complex civil, criminal and administrative litigation with a special focus on healthcare fraud and abuse, False Claims Act and qui tam (whistleblower litigation) matters, government and white collar investigations, and commercial litigation.  Mr. Shepard has represented hospital systems, hospitals, long-term and managed care facilities, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, pharmacies, laboratories, physicians, physician groups, home healthcare providers, nurse practitioners and other healthcare providers in a wide range of matters involving civil, criminal and administrative litigation.  Mr. Shepard is well versed in government investigations at the federal, state and local levels and has defended numerous healthcare providers, corporations, corporate officials, executives and employees in a broad range of white-collar criminal cases.  With thirty-seven years of military experience, Mr. Shepard often represents individual servicemen and women in cases involving the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act, and other matters.  Mr. Shepard also represents individuals in personal injury, medical malpractice, and other types of litigation.  

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Shepard served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, in which capacity he was responsible for all phases of felony criminal prosecution in federal court, including grand jury proceedings, trials, and appeals for a wide range of federal offenses, including fraud, organized crime and drug enforcement cases.  Immediately after graduating from law school in 1991, Mr. Shepard, then a Lieutenant, served as an attorney for the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps.  Brigadier General Shepard recently retired from the Air Force and his last duty assignment was Commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard.

Admitted to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia, Mr. Shepard is a 1991 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore Law School, where he was associate editor of the University of Baltimore Law Review and a member of the Heuisler Honor Society, and recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for Constitutional Law.  Mr. Shepard is also a graduate of Towson University, the Naval Justice School, and the U.S. Air Force Air War College.

Experience:

Founder of The Shepard Law Firm, LLC
     June 2014--present
Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, LLC
     Partner, July 2011–June 2014
Duane Morris, LLP
     Partner, 2008-July 2011
Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver, P.C.
     Shareholder, 2000-2008
U.S. Attorney’s Office
     Assistant U.S. Attorney, 1994-2000
West Virginia Air National Guard
     SJA/Chief of Staff 1999-present
U.S. Air Force Reserves
     Staff Judge Advocate, 1996-1999
U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps
     Trial Attorney, 1991-1996
Maryland Air National Guard
     Small Arms Instructor June 1985-1991

Professional Activities:

American Bar Association
Health Law Section
American Health Lawyers Association
Federal Bar Association
Maryland Criminal Justice Act Panel
National Institute for Trial Advocacy
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Marshall University Forensic Science Center
     Adjunct Professor

Court Admissions:

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
All courts in Maryland
All courts in Virginia
All courts in West Virginia
All courts in the District of Columbia

Representative Matters:

• • Defended nine hospitals in a multidistrict qui tam lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act that asserted fraudulent claims were made to Medicare and Medicaid for investigational cardiac devices.
  • Defended an independent reference laboratory in administrative litigation brought by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that sought revocation of the laboratory’s license and its Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) certification to conduct testing.
  • Represented a teaching hospital in administrative appeals and federal court litigation against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to recover Medicare payments recouped by a Medicare fiscal intermediary as a result of the hospital’s alleged improper claims relating to investigational devices.
  • Defended a large hospital system during a False Claims Act investigation by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General regarding its alleged improper receipt of Medicare outlier payments.
  • Defended a home-health physician in connection with a grand jury investigation of alleged fraudulent misrepresentations relating to point-of-service certifications.
  • Defended a cardiologist against criminal charges of health care fraud stemming from Department of Justice accusations that the cardiologist performed unnecessary cardiac procedures.
  • Represented a physician in administrative appeals from the denial of home-health claims as medically unreasonable and unnecessary.
  • Represented a hospital in appeals from claim denials resulting from a Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor’s audit finding that certain cardiac procedures were not covered.
  • Defended a physician in connection with the attempted revocation of her hospital privileges.
  • Represented a nurse practitioner accused of Medicare fraud and charged in federal criminal case with obstruction of a federal audit.
  • Represented a large long-term care pharmacy in connection with False Claims Act investigations brought by several state attorney general offices into allegations that the pharmacy was not complying with Medicaid best-price rules.
  • Represented a large drug distributor in connection with the prosecution of a former executive for soliciting kickbacks in exchange for the purchase of counterfeit plasma products on the secondary market.
  • Represented several nursing homes in connection with state investigations relating to patient safety.
  • Defended a  pharmacist charged criminally in connection with the reuse and resale of returned pharmaceuticals.
  • Defended a hospital laboratory in a billing dispute with the Department of Justice and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
  • Represented a university hospital system in connection with a Department of Justice investigation regarding its alleged manipulation of APR-DRG reimbursement through alleged improper documentation of certain secondary diagnoses to artificially increase the severity of illness-assignment levels.
  • Defended a physician group accused by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General of up-coding evaluation and management billings.
  • Represented a nurse-practitioner based home-health provider following the denial by its Medicare carrier of its home-health claims on the grounds that medical necessity was lacking.
  • Represented a corporate executive convicted of securities fraud and other offenses in post-conviction proceedings, including resentencing following remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
  • Obtained a confidential settlement of $115,000 for a client in a medical malpractice case involving a delay in diagnoses and treatment of a heart attack.
  • Obtained a confidential settlement of $600,000 for a client involved in an automobile accident.

Selected Speaking Engagements:

“Social Media in Litigation,” AIDE Conference, Marshall University Forensic Science Center, July 2011
“Electronic Evidence and Discovery for Judges,” Circuit Judges’ Education Conference, Bridgeport, West Virginia, May 2009
“RAC Attacks,” MdHIMA 2007
“Electronic Discovery 101: Understanding the New Federal Rules,” Marshall University CLE, 2006, 2007 and 2008
“Document Retention and Destruction in Maryland,” Lorman Education Services, Rockville, Maryland, 2006
“Preparing Yourself to Be an Expert Witness,” Marshall University Forensic Science Center, 2005
 “Healthcare Fraud & Abuse and the Government’s Investigation Techniques,” MdHIMA 2001
“Federal Criminal Prosecutions and Investigations,” Marshall University, 1999 and 2000