David J. Chizewer

David Chizewer, a principal in the firm's litigation group, has been featured in the National Law Journal’s list of 10 of the nation’s top litigators. He was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Public Justice Foundation, and was separately a runner-up for that same award. He was also named Lawyer of the Year by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund. The federal court in Chicago has twice given Mr. Chizewer the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service, and the National Law Journal has named him an "Environmental Trailblazer" for his work on environmental justice issues.

An experienced False Claims Act litigator, Mr. Chizewer's qui tam cases have returned more than $500 million to federal and state treasuries. Mr. Chizewer has served as co-lead trial counsel in some of the country's most prominent False Claims Act and health care cases.

• Chizewer was co-lead trial counsel for Plaintiffs, and obtained the largest verdict and judgment in the history of the federal False Claim Act ($334 million), in United States of America ex. rel. Cleveland A. Tyson, et al. v. Amerigroup Corporation, et al., a case involving illegal discrimination against Medicaid participants because of pre-existing conditions.
• Chizewer was co-lead trial counsel for a class of 600,000 children on Medicaid against the State of Illinois in the case captioned, Memisovski, et al. v. Patla, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, obtaining a judgment that secured some of the most sweeping reforms ever to a state Medicaid program.

Mr. Chizewer is a frequent speaker on the False Claims Act, including lectures at the Federal Judicial Center, the National Advocacy Center and the law schools of Cornell and Berkeley.

In a civic capacity, Mr. Chizewer is at the forefront of the legal issues affecting the education reform movement. He is one of the founders and past board president of the Chicago International Charter School, the nation's largest charter school. He also co-founded the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

Mr. Chizewer received his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1991 and his B.A. in economics, magna cum laude, from Pomona College in 1988.