Andrew A. Rainer - Boston, MA
699 Boylston StreetBoston, MA 02116
Brody Hardoon Perkins & Kesten, LLP
Overview
Over the course of his career, Andrew Rainer has served as an Assistant Attorney General, as an Assistant District Attorney, as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, and as an active trial lawyer. He is an AV-rated lawyer who has served as lead counsel in dozens of jury trials, and has helped craft numerous multimillion-dollar settlements. Mr. Rainer brought the first whistleblower suit against a government contractor for fraud on Boston's Big Dig, helping the...
Over the course of his career, Andrew Rainer has served as an Assistant Attorney General, as an Assistant District Attorney, as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, and as an active trial lawyer. He is an AV-rated lawyer who has served as lead counsel in dozens of jury trials, and has helped craft numerous multimillion-dollar settlements. Mr. Rainer brought the first whistleblower suit against a government contractor for fraud on Boston's Big Dig, helping the...
Over the course of his career, Andrew Rainer has served as an Assistant Attorney General, as an Assistant District Attorney, as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, and as an active trial lawyer. He is an AV-rated lawyer who has served as lead counsel in dozens of jury trials, and has helped craft numerous multimillion-dollar settlements. Mr. Rainer brought the first whistleblower suit against a government contractor for fraud on Boston's Big Dig, helping the federal and state governments recover almost $50 million. He has over 25 years of experience representing companies, government entities, and individuals in environmental and public health litigation.
At Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten, LLP, Mr. Rainer's practice focuses in two areas:
representing whistleblowers in cases brought under the federal and state False Claims Act, the Dodd-Frank securities whistleblower law, and the IRS tax fraud program, and
representing property owners and municipalities in environmental and public health litigation.
Whistleblower Cases
As a private lawyer, Mr. Rainer began one of the first cases ever brought under the Massachusetts False Claims Act. As an Assistant Attorney General, he also personally investigated, prosecuted, and resolved numerous False Claims Act cases. Mr. Rainer has worked one-on-one with most of the federal and state attorneys in Massachusetts who review whistleblower cases, and is in an ideal position to help a client who has information about fraud on the government to navigate the false claims process and recover a substantial reward.
Among the whistleblowers Mr. Rainer has worked with are:
A driver for a concrete company who charged the company with selling the federal and state governments millions of dollars in off-spec concrete
Former employees of an incinerator operator who reported that the company was regularly cheating on its municipal contracts by breaking the environmental laws
City employees who discovered that a municipal hauling contractor was routinely cheating the city
Employees of a sewer cleaning contractor who charged that the company was cheating on over a dozen state and local contracts
Mr. Rainer is available to help other clients who know about fraud by government contractors to blow the whistle and to recover a reward of up to 30% of the amount of the fraud. He can also help get rewards for clients who know about federal tax fraud of over $2 million, and employees of publicly-traded companies who discover fraud at their companies.
Environmental Litigation
Over the past 25 years, Mr. Rainer has represented businesses, state and local governments, and individuals in a wide variety of environmental litigation, involving --
- oil spills
- hazardous materials and hazardous waste
- groundwater contamination
- air pollution
- landfills
- environmental permitting
- PCBs
- asbestos removal
- lead paint
- infectious diseases
- public and private nuisance
From February 2008 to June 2014, Mr. Rainer served as Chief of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force, a cooperative effort of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, designed to investigate and prosecute the most serious environmental violations. At the Strike Force, Mr. Rainer worked closely with most of the state and federal officials in Massachusetts who enforce the environmental laws, and is therefore well positioned to help a client respond to and resolve environmental enforcement matters.
The results Mr. Rainer has obtained for his environmental clients include-
- Successfully resolved responsibility of shipping company for oil spill in the Cape Cod Canal
- Successfully negotiated share of responsibility of waste plating company for contributions to Superfund site
- Successfully represented truck distributors in negotiations over de minimis contributions to hazardous waste site
- Successfully defended roofing shingle manufacturer in litigation over environmental insurance coverage
Mr. Rainer also has a long history of representing property owners, whose properties have suffered a loss in use and property de-valuation as a result of environmental contamination, including:
- Dozens of property owners in Pittsfield, Massachusetts whose properties were contaminated with PCBs
- Hundreds of property owners in Hamden, Connecticut whose properties were contaminated with lead, arsenic and other by-products of gun manufacturing
- A neighborhood in Cape Cod whose drinking water was being polluted by toxic groundwater plumes emanating from the Massachusetts Military Reservation
- The neighbors of a plastics manufacturer in Wilmington, Massachusetts who were evacuated from their homes as a result of toxic fumes from the plant
Mr. Rainer graduated from Princeton University, with honors, in 1979, and obtained his J.D. from New York University Law School in 1982. During law school, Mr. Rainer served as a senior editor of the NYU Law Review, and after graduation served as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles R. Richey of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Prior Experience
Mr. Rainer began his practice in 1983 as an associate with the law firm of Goodwin Procter & Hoar in Boston, where he worked in various aspects of the firm's corporate, bankruptcy and litigation practice. Between 1986 and 1989, Mr. Rainer served as Minority Counsel and then as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC. For the Committee, he worked on legislation involving moneylaundering, forfeiture, and financial privacy, and also assisted in the investigation of nominees to the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts.
In 1989, Mr. Rainer joined the Boston firm of Shapiro Haber & Urmy, LLP, where he developed a substantial practice representing clients in business, consumer, environmental and civil rights cases. Mr. Rainer obtained a series of multi-million dollar settlements in complex commercial fraud cases, in which he represented parties that had been defrauded. He also represented homeowners whose properties had been contaminated in cases involving the Department of Defense, General Electric Company, and several other major corporations. Working together with co-counsel and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, he also assisted in securing a $16 million settlement of a major race discrimination class action.
In 2000, Mr. Rainer became an Assistant District Attorney in the office of Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley, where he was given responsibility for developing and prosecuting white collar criminal cases, including credit card fraud, insurance fraud, forgery, embezzlement, and perjury. He served as trial counsel in over twenty jury trials, as well as handling indictments, arraignments, and evidentiary motions in the trial courts of Middlesex County. In 2002, he was honored as Prosecutor of the Year by the International Association of Financial Crime Investigators.
In 2004, Mr. Rainer joined with Mark Roberts and Randy McRoberts to form the firm of McRoberts, Roberts & Rainer, LLP. His practice at the firm ran a broad range of environmental and litigation matters, including large scale corporate and commercial fraud cases, breach of fiduciary duty suits, Superfund cases, and toxic tort litigation. Working together with lawyers in five other states, Mr. Rainer helped negotiate a settlement with 12 soft drink manufacturers to reformulate their products to avoid the formation of benzene, a known carcinogen. In 2007, he was named a Massachusetts Superlawyer, in part for bringing the first whistleblower suit against a contractor for fraud of Boston's Big Dig, and helping the state and federal governments to recover almost $50 million.
At the beginning of 2008, Mr. Rainer was appointed by Attorney General Coakley to serve as Chief of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force, a cooperative prosecution effort of the Attorney General's Office, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, designed to crack down on criminal polluters. He held that position from 2008 through 2014, during which time he led the state's prosecution in the case of Commonwealth v. Springfield Terminal Railways, which resulted in the largest criminal fine after trial in an environmental prosecution in Massachusetts, and was also chief counsel for the Commonweatlh in crafting a $7.5 million settlement in the case of Commonwealth v. Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc.
Professional Affiliations
Mr. Rainer is a member of the bar of:
- Massachusetts
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
Mr. Rainer has held leadership posts in these bar organizations:
Boston Bar Association
- Elected Member of the BBA Council, 2003-2006
- Co-Chair, Administration of Justice Section, 2003-2004
- Steering Committee Member, Admin. of Justice Section, 2006-present
- Steering Committee Member, Environmental Law Section, 2008-present
- Co-Chair, Massachusetts Practice and Procedure Committee, 2001-2003
- Steering Committee Member, Individual Rights and Responsibilities
- Section, 2001-2003
Member of the Task Force on Civility and Professionalism, 2001-02
Massachusetts Bar Foundation
- Trustee, 2012- present
- Fellow, 2002-present
Frank J. Murray Inn of Court
- President, 1997-1999
- Secretary, 1992-1994
- Board Member, 1996-present
Honors
In addition to being named Prosecutor of the Year by the International Association of Financial Crime Investigators, Mr. Rainer has been named Lawyer of the Year by the Frank J. Murray Inn of Court. He has been listed as a Massachusetts "Super Lawyer," and has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, a certification indicating that his peers rank him at the highest levels of professional excellence for both skills and ethics.
Lecturing and Publications
Mr. Rainer has been a regular lecturer on civil litigation and environmental issues, including at programs of the Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, the American Bar Association, the Social Law Library, the National Association of Attorneys General, the Attorney General's Institute, the Northeast Environmental Enforcement Project, the Western States Enforcement Project, the California District Attorneys Association, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, including the following:
- Lecturer, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (March 2014), taught on environmental criminal prosecutions
- Speaker, MCLE Environmental Law Conference (Jan. 2010, 2011, 2012), 2013, 2014), discussed work of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force
- Speaker, Northeast Environmental Enforcement Project (October 2013), discussed lead paint enforcement and prosecutions
- Speaker, California District Attorneys Association (June 2013), gave presentation on Commonwealth v. Springfield Terminal Railway Co.
- Speaker, Western States Enforcement Project (April 2012), gave presentation on Commonwealth v. Springfield Terminal Railway Co.
- Speaker, BBA Environmental Law Section (Oct. 2011), discussed Commonwealth v. Wheelabrator Saugus, Inc., the settlement of a major incinerator case
- Speaker, ABA-New England Environmental Law Developments (Sept. 2011), discussed incinerator case, Commonwealth v. Wheelabrator Saugus, Inc. and Appeals Court ruling in Commonwealth v. Springfield Terminal Railway Co.
- Speaker, AG Institute (Sept. 2011), presented an update on the law of testimonial privileges recognized in Massachusetts
- Speaker, BBA Environmental Law Section (November 2010), discussed environmental false claims litigation
- Speaker, BBA Environmental Litigation Section (June 2010), discussed work of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force
- Speaker, Discovery in the Superior Court, Social Law Library CLE (May 2009), discussed developments in the law of privilege
- Speaker, Northeast Environmental Enforcement Project Conference (October 2008), discussed developing prosecutions for improper disposal of medical waste
- Speaker, Boston Bar Association Environmental Section (June 2008), luncheon program on the work of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force
- Speaker, National Association of Attorneys General (April 2008), discussed differences between civil and criminal environmental enforcement
- Speaker, Boston Bar Association Class Action Committee (March 2008), discussed recent caselaw involving consumer class actions
- Chair, Update on Massachusetts Discovery, Boston Bar Association CLE (November 2005), addressed developments in the law of privilege and new time standards orders
- Speaker, Boston Bar Association Environmental Litigation Committee (November 2004), luncheon program on evidentiary issues in the introduction of environmental expert reports
- Co-Chair, Boston Bar Association Superior Court Bench-Bar Conference (March 2003), and moderator of panels on the budget crisis, sealing of discovery and settlement agreements, and the use of juror questions
- Co-Chair, Boston Bar Association Superior Court Bench-Bar Conference (February 2002), moderator of panels on Daubert challenges and attorney voir dire of jurors
- Speaker, Boston Bar Association Environmental Litigation Committee (February 2003), luncheon program on Lewis v. General Electric Company and environmental class actions
- Moderator, Boston Bar Association Individual Rights Section (May 2002), luncheon program on surveillance in public and private places
- Speaker, Boston Bar Association Environmental Litigation Section (April 2000), seminar on environmental justice issues
He is a co-author with Judge Peter Lauriat, Elaine McChesney and William Gordon of Discovery, Volume 49 of the Massachusetts Practice series. He also authored and regularly updates a chapter of MCLE Deposition Manual. He has contributed to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and to the Boston Bar Journal.
Community Organizations
Mr. Rainer has worked closely with many of the non-profit organizations concerned with environmental issues in Massachusetts, including
- Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow
- Alternatives for Community and Environment
- Clean Water Action
- Conservation Law Foundation
- Environment Massachusetts
- Environmental League of Massachusetts
- Toxics Action Center
Mr. Rainer has also served on the board of a number of local civil rights organizations. He was on the board of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice from 1996 to 2007, and served as Secretary of the board from 1999 to 2003. He was on the board of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalitiion from 1999 to 2006, and served as President of the board from 2004 to 2006. He was also a member of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Refugees and Immigrants from 1991 to 1997, and served as its Chair from 1995 to 1997.
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