Mr. Barnard is a nationally known litigator and a former Department of Justice attorney and military officer. He currently serves as coordinator of Baker Donelson's Healthcare Investigation Response Team (HIRT) initiative and leader of the Government Investigation sub-group in the Firm's Long-Term Care Center of Excellence. Mr. Barnard is the former vice chair of Baker Donelson's Government Enforcement and Investigations Group with first-chair criminal and civil trial experience. Outside of the courtroom, he regularly serves as the representative for individuals and corporations while interacting with the government in a wide variety of scenarios. Mr. Barnard is also an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law’s Legal Rhetoric program.
With a primary focus on advising clients in response to government investigations, Mr. Barnard offers full-spectrum legal services to entities and individuals involved in any phase of government interaction including congressional investigations and coordination efforts with the government where clients are not the focus of the inquiry. Mr. Barnard offers in-depth experience with qui tams under the False Claims Act as well as federal and state investigations, with a large portion of his practice serving organizations and professionals in Health and Defense Industries. Other areas of practice include government contracts and procurement fraud; cybersecurity; National Security, Counterintelligence and related regulations and laws like ITAR; CFIUS and OFAC; Military Law; defending Law Enforcement in Civil Rights litigation; and general commercial litigation and trial experience.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Barnard served in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Maryland. While there, he served as counsel for the United States in numerous investigations under the False Claims Act, focusing on government contract and health care fraud. He also served as counsel in a wide range of defensive civil litigation for the United States, handling all aspects of cases through discovery, motions, mediation, trial and appeal. As the office eDiscovery coordinator, Mr. Barnard served on the Department of Justice eDiscovery Working Group, and the District of Maryland Sub-Committee on eDiscovery, and as a lecturer on eDiscovery at the National Advocacy Center.
Mr. Barnard's military career is an integral part of his current practice; he relies on decades of military service to better understand the unique needs of clients who regularly interact or do business with the government. Before retiring from the military, he was a judge advocate in the Maryland National Guard, where he supervised legal planning and support for the Guard's domestic operations. Before joining the Guard, he served on active duty, where he litigated criminal and administrative matters as both government counsel and defense counsel, served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, and worked extensively as a legal advisor for matters related to military intelligence. Mr. Barnard initially served as a military police officer overseas before being selected for the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps.