Contact Jillian Estes

513-448-1251
jillian.estes@morganverkamp.com

Education

  • University of Florida, B.A. in Criminology, summa cum laude
  • University of Florida Levin College of Law, cum laude

Licensure and Admissions

  • Florida
  • Middle District of Florida
  • Southern District of Florida

Recent Speaking Engagements

  • “Settlement Landmines: New Dangers and How to Avoid Them,” Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Conference, Feb. 2023
  • “Litigating Declined Cases,” 22nd Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference, Oct. 2022
  • “Practical Advice for Identifying and Working Up a Qui Tam Case,” American Association for Justice Annual Convention, July 2022
  • “FCA Developments,” American Bar Association White Collar Conference, Oct. 2021
  • “FCA 101,” 21st Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference, Oct. 2021 (Moderator)
  • “Expecting the Unexpected: Handling Life Cycle Events in an FCA Context,” 20th Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference, Oct. 2020 (Moderator)
  • “How to Handle Collateral Litigation During a Qui Tam Seal,” Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Section Roundtable, August 2020
  • “Relator’s Counsel Direct Examination of Relator,” American Bar Association Third False Claims and Qui Tam Trial Institute, June 2019
  • “False Claims Act Hot Topics and Recent Developments,” 7th Annual Georgia Bar Whistleblower Law Symposium, Feb. 2020
  • “Declined Case Topics,” 18th Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference, Oct. 2018
  • “Pursuing & Defending FCA Cases Effectively,” 6th Annual Georgia Bar Whistleblower Law Symposium, Mar. 2018
  • “Ethics Panel,” 17th Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference, Nov. 2017
  • “Using the Hague Convention to Resolve International Parental Child Abduction,” Tampa Bay Paralegal Association General Meeting, 2016
  • “Relator’s Share Panel,” 15th Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Conference, Nov. 2015
  • “Relator’s Counsel Perspective Panel,” 16th Annual Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Compliance Congress, Oct. 2015
  • “Addressing Legal and Medical Ethics When Conflicts Arise Among Medical Staff, Patients, and Healthcare Institutions – Panel and Interactive Discussion,” 7th Annual FUNdamentals: Lawyers at the Bedside, Florida Bar Health Law Section, Sept. 2015

Jillian was lead counsel on a case against a healthcare system that resulted in an $18 million settlement and improved the landscape of healthcare for high-risk pregnancy care.

Jillian Estes

Partner

Jillian Estes joined Morgan Verkamp in 2018 as a Senior Attorney. Jillian began her career handling class action cases primarily against for-profit colleges. Since 2010, she has exclusively worked on False Claims Act matters. Jillian was lead counsel on one of the first cases to successfully apply the Stark Statute to Medicaid claims, obtained a favorable first-to-file determination (including successfully defending an appeal to the Third Circuit) for a relator following a $192 million settlement, and represented a relator through post-settlement relator’s share litigation with the United States. She was also lead counsel on U.S. ex rel. Robinson v. Indiana University Health, et al., which resulted in an $18 million settlement and changed the landscape of healthcare for high-risk pregnant women in Indianapolis. Jillian has worked on cases that have returned more than $400 million to taxpayers.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Jillian worked at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) in Alexandria, VA. Because of her experiences at NCMEC, Jillian began volunteering for the U.S. Department of State’s Attorney Network once she became a lawyer, taking pro bono cases representing parents whose children were wrongfully brought into or retained in the United States from their home countries. Jillian has successfully handled Hague Convention cases that resulted in the return of children to their custodial families in Denmark, Mexico and Guatemala. For her work on these cases, Jillian received Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit’s Outstanding Pro Bono Service by a Young Lawyer award and a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. State Department.

Something You May Not Know About Me

While working at NCMEC, I accidentally became responsible for managing the first return of an abducted American child located in Thailand. The Case Manager responsible for handling East Asia was traveling when a little boy who had been abducted from Texas by his non-custodial mother was located in Bangkok. I took the call in the Case Manager’s absence, which turned into three days of coordinating the efforts of NCMEC, the State Department, the US Embassy officials in Bangkok, and the local Thai police to orchestrate the return of the six-year-old boy. I was able to meet the family several months later, and the father and son running up together to give me a giant hug will always be one of the most memorable moments of my life.