James H. (Jamie) Shoemaker, Jr., has practiced law at Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamonstein (PWHD) since 1993 and has been a partner with the firm since 1996.
Practice Areas
Mr. Shoemaker focuses his practice on litigation matters involving:
- All areas of employment law
- False Claims Act & Sarbanes-Oxley (whistleblower cases)
- Fair Labor Standards Act (wage and hour cases)
Experience
For more than two decades, Mr. Shoemaker has sought justice for whistleblowers, victims of fraud and those clients adversely affected by unlawful employment practices such as whistleblower cases, sexual harassment and wage and hour violations wage and hour cases. He has tried over 70 cases to verdict in state and federal courts of record throughout the United States, before arbitration panels, Administrative Law Judges and other forums. He has successfully resolved several times this number through mediation and negotiated settlement.
Highly experienced in complex litigation, Jamie has served as lead counsel or co-lead counsel in several False Claims Act qui tam matters involving various types of healthcare fraud and fraud against the Department of Defense. Obtaining government interventions in these cases can be vital in achieving ultimate success. Jamie and his partners have obtained government intervention in a significant number of cases. Jamie represented the successful whistleblower in U.S. ex rel Williams v. Reckitt Benckiser Group which settled for a total of $1.4 billion dollars in 2019. Though Jamie’s client was the third to file against the Reckitt family of companies, he was the first lawyer to name the London-based parent, RBG. As a result, Jamie’s client was deemed first-filed and won a mid-eight figure whistleblower award. This is the fifth largest False Claims Act settlement in U.S. history and the largest related to the opioid crisis. One of his clients was among the eight successful relators in the 2009 recovery against Pfizer totaling $2.3 billion dollars – it is the second largest qui tam settlement in U.S. history. In 2017, Jamie obtained the largest FMLA verdict ever returned in Virginia, and one of the largest in the U.S. He has served as lead counsel in very significant employment cases around the U.S. resulting in numerous six and seven figure recoveries.
Mr. Shoemaker is a member of the Virginia State Bar, is admitted to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and has served as lead counsel in cases in several other states through pro hac vice admission, including: California, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Accolades
Mr. Shoemaker’s excellence in practice has been recognized by several prestigious organizations, including the following honors:
- Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell.
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2006. This publication seeks to identify the country’s top practitioners through a national survey of lawyers and judges.
- Named to “Virginia Legal Elite” list by Virginia Business Magazine for the past twelve years.
- Awarded the Courageous Advocate Award by the New York chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association in 2005.
Teaching
Mr. Shoemaker has spoken at several seminars on employment law topics including:
- Non-compete agreements
- Wrongful discharge
- Sexual harassment
- Discrimination
- Wage and hour issues
- False Claims Act
- Family and Medical Leave Act
Education and Military Experience
Mr. Shoemaker attended the Virginia Military Institute on a Navy ROTC scholarship where he studied Economics and earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1984. After graduating from VMI, he served as Navigator and Tactical Action Officer aboard a destroyer and made two deployments to the Middle East. Following four years of active duty, Mr. Shoemaker also served three years in the reserves while pursuing his Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond which he received in 1991.
Community Involvement
During his years of practice, Mr. Shoemaker has remained active in the community in several ways:
- Former president of the Tidewater Federal Bar Association
- Former president and trustee of the Sarah Bonwell Hudgins Foundation
- Appointed by two Virginia governors to HRSD, Hampton Roads' sanitation utility, which has an annual budget of approximately $300,000,000.
- Board member of Peninsula Metropolitan YMCA
- Board member of Peninsula Legal Aid
- Fort Monroe Authority Finance Committee
- Board member of Christopher Newport University Sailing Foundation
- Board member of St. Andrews Episcopal School
Mr. Shoemaker resides in Hampton, Virginia, with his wife, Kimberly, and their daughter, Jill.
Contact us Today!
If you need an experienced employment and whistleblower claims lawyer, call James H. Shoemaker, Jr.,today at 757-223-4560 for your consultation. We welcome clients throughout the United States.
