Brandon Essig, Jack Sharman and JT Thompson Author Law360 Article on DOJ Nursing Home Initiative
July 21, 2020
Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC partners Brandon K. Essig, Jackson R. Sharman III and John G. Thompson, Jr. authored an article for Law360 (subscription required) about the new Department of Justice (DOJ) National Nursing Home Initiative. (Read the full article on our website here.)
Their article, titled “How Facilities Can Brace For DOJ Nursing Home Initiative,” discussed the new task force that will investigate and prosecute instances of grossly substandard care in nursing homes nationwide. The piece explores who is at risk of investigation by the task force and how a potential target can prepare.
“Government investigations are not new to owners and operators of nursing homes, and DOJ’s pursuit of them has resulted in significant criminal and civil enforcement actions in recent years,” write the authors. “However, past efforts by DOJ, including the announcement of an Elder Justice Initiative in 2016, have tended to focus primarily on health care and financial fraud. The DOJ’s recent announcement was notable because it made clear that the focus will be on the physical well-being of elder patients potentially suffering from abuse and neglect.”
Essig focuses his practice on white-collar criminal defense, corporate investigations, NCAA compliance and investigations, and general litigation. He joined Lightfoot after nearly eight years as a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice in the Middle District of Alabama where he tried multiple felony jury trials each year. Prior to his time at the DOJ, Essig was a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps where he worked as a prosecutor and deployed with an infantry unit to Fallujah, Iraq.
Sharman has practiced law for nearly 30 years and leads Lightfoot’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Corporate Investigations practice. He defends businesses and individuals in civil and criminal white-collar cases, provides guidance during corporate internal investigations and advises clients on how to stay in compliance with the law. He served as special counsel to the House Financial Services Committee for the Whitewater investigation involving President Bill Clinton, and he was special counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the Alabama House of Representatives for the impeachment investigation of Gov. Robert Bentley.
Thompson represents clients in several industries involving a broad array of cases. He regularly defends doctors in medical malpractice matters and manufacturers in product liability cases. Thompson has tried many cases to defense verdicts in both areas of practice. He also represents companies in general business litigation and serves as trusted counsel to media companies in First Amendment and defamation cases.
