 Michael A. Hirst, Esq.
Attorney Michael A. Hirst is a founding partner of Hirst & Chanler LLP, with offices in Berkeley, Chicago, New Canaan (CT) and Sacramento.
Mr. Hirst was born and raised in Greenwich Village in New York City. He was a Regents Scholar at Hamilton College '80. He was ranked number one in his first-year law school class and was later designated as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar at Columbia University School of Law '87.
Prior to starting the firm, Mr. Hirst worked at the law firm of McCutchen, Doyle, Brown and Enersen in San Francisco and had a distinguished career as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California. During his 15 years there, he served as the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Coordinator, the Health Care Fraud Coordinator, and the Chief of Affirmative Civil Litigation, in which he supervised all civil investigations and cases brought by the office within the 34 counties in the district, including all fraud and False Claims Act prosecutions.
Described by the San Jose Mercury News as one of the "leading prosecutors in California" after only 4 years with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Hirst has received numerous awards and recognitions. Nominated for the National Assistant United States Attorney of the Year in 2004, Mr. Hirst has received multiple sustained superior performance awards and a Director's Award from the Department of Justice, presented by Attorney General Janet Reno. He has received countless awards from other federal agencies, including the highest award given by the Department of Health and Human Services and various awards and recognitions from the Forest Service, including from Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, who recognized Mr. Hirst's "tireless efforts in preparation and brilliant performance at trial."
Mr. Hirst's record-setting $62.55 million prosecution of Redding Medical Center and Tenet Healthcare, Inc. is the largest recovery in a medical necessity fraud case, and the largest recovery against a single hospital, in United States Department of Justice history. Following that case, Attorney General John Ashcroft wrote that Mr. Hirst was an "exceptional litigator who has performed a significant public service." Attorney General Ashcroft stated: "The successful outcome in this case significantly advanced the Department's efforts to combat fraudulent health care practices." Featured in a book about the case, Coronary (Simon and Schuster, 2007) by New York Times journalist and author Stephen Klaidman, Mr. Hirst was described as a "quiet but tough negotiator."
Mr. Hirst's cases have been reported on television, radio and newspapers throughout the country and abroad, including on 60 Minutes, 20-20, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, NPR, in front page stories in the New York Times and the Financial Times of London, in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, Reuters, the National Journal, the Sacramento Bee, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and numerous other publications.
Mr. Hirst lives in Davis, California, with his wife and three children.
 Clifford A. Chanler, Esq.
Attorney Clifford A. Chanler is a founding partner of Hirst & Chanler LLP with offices in Berkeley, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Canaan and Sacramento. He is widely regarded as one of the most prominent and successful plaintiff’s lawyers in environmental enforcement actions brought under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (known as "Proposition 65").
Following his graduation from Duke University ‘82 and the University of Denver College of Law ‘85, Mr. Chanler worked on Wall Street before joining the firm of Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison in San Francisco. While at the firm, Mr. Chanler won a $14.9 million jury verdict in a breach of contract action against defense contractor Exide Electronics. After later working for the Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati law firm, Mr. Chanler established his own public interest firm, focusing on a variety of consumer protection cases including matters brought under Proposition 65.
Among Mr. Chanler’s many successes include an action against the paint stripper industry that marked the first time an entire product line was pulled from California; a record-setting multimillion dollar recovery against ten leading manufacturers of ceramic dishes containing dangerous and high quantities of lead; an action against numerous cosmetics manufacturers resulting in reformulation of nail polish containing toluene, a chemical known to cause birth defects; a landmark case successfully obtaining a permanent injunction and penalties against J.C. Penney after over 90 days of trial involving 40 witnesses and 400 exhibits; and recovery of the largest penalties in the history of Proposition 65 in a case against PepsiCo.
Described by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as "strategically brilliant," and in the San Francisco Recorder as "a classic example" of someone able "to do good work in the public interest" and "take the big risks," Mr. Chanler’s successful cases have been reported internationally, including by NBC News, CBS News, NPR, the Associated Press, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Vancouver Sun, San Francisco Chronicle, Atlanta Constitution, Oakland Tribune, Montreal Gazette, Sacramento Bee and numerous other publications.
Mr. Chanler lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife and two daughters.
Attorneys
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Name |
Undergraduate School |
Law School |
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Dan Bornstein
David Bush
Leslie Guillon
Larry Haveson
David Lavine
Christopher Martin
Laralei Paras |
UC Santa Cruz
University of Southern California
University of Southern California
UC San Diego
UC Berkeley (Harvard Master Degree)
Iowa State University
UC Berkeley |
University of San Francisco
McGeorge
McGeorge
UC Davis
UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall
Chicago-Kent
Lewis & Clark |
Investigators and Auditors
Something that sets our firm apart is our unique staff of full-time investigators and auditors. For both the False Claims Act and the IRS Whistleblower Statute, our employee investigators and CPAs will bring strong expertise to your case.
Our investigators have a broad background in civil investigation including undercover investigation, interfacing with experts, preparing court presentations and exhibits, and testifying at trial. Our lead investigator is a licensed private investigator with over 10 years experience providing fact finding, litigation support, trial preparation, and testimony in civil litigation. She has piloted a number of major investigations against companies listed in the Fortune 500.
Our two auditors are both CPAs with extensive experience in Medicare and Medicaid fraud, having spent a combined 30 years with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Jerry Hurst, also a Certified Fraud Specialist, was a Health Care Fraud Auditor with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California, from July 2001 to November 2005. Brooke A. Lee, in addition to her government experience, has 6 years of experience in private sector accounting. Their auditing work in federal and state health care programs includes nursing homes, hospitals, physicians, medical supply companies, home health care agencies, pharmaceutical companies, rural health clinics, and durable medical equipment companies, to name a few. They have extensive experience with government agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, DCIS, etc. who many be involved in your case once it is filed.
We believe our experienced staff will ensure that your case receives unmatched support. If the government declines to intervene in the action, we have the necessary resources to proceed independently, if warranted.
Hirst and Chanler LLP
Law Firm Locations
We have law offices in:
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Berkeley, California
Parker Plaza
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 214
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 848-8880
Chicago, Illinois
Jefferson Adams Building
566 West Adams Street, Suite 450
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 376-1801 |
New Canaan, Connecticut
The Whitney Building
71 Elm Street, Suite 8
New Canaan, CT 06840
(800) 935-8116
Sacramento, California
Capitol Mall Complex
455 Capitol Mall, Suite 605
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 443-6100 |
Los Angeles, California
2674 Main Street, Suite D
PBM 139
Ventura, Ca 93003
(800) 935-8116
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