Jake M. Shields

Jake M. Shields is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Litigation, White-Collar Defense and Investigations, Antitrust, Consumer Protection, Government Contracts, FDA/Health Care, and False Claims Act practice groups.

Jake’s practice focuses on government investigations and civil litigations, including in the areas of antitrust/competition, consumer protection, government contracts, and the False Claims Act.  

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Jake was a Senior Trial Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, having split his time over an eight-year career between the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and the Antitrust Division’s Technology and Digital Platforms Section.

At the Civil Division, Jake investigated and litigated cases under the False Claims Act (FCA) on behalf of the federal government. Jake was involved in dozens of FCA matters that collectively resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars to the United States, including respectively the single largest civil recoveries in the history of two separate federal jurisdictions (Houston and Nashville). Jake also served as lead counsel in the first FCA litigation DOJ ever filed against a government contractor for alleged cybersecurity violations, and was involved in DOJ’s enforcement of the FCA against private equity and other investment firms.

At the Antitrust Division, Jake served as a member of the winning litigation team in the Google search antitrust enforcement action.

Both in and out of government, Jake has experience handling matters involving allegations of healthcare, financial, customs, and procurement fraud, as well as violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, Tariff Act, Sherman Act, and state consumer protection laws.

A seasoned civil litigator, Jake has litigated in numerous federal and state courts across the country. Jake has also argued appeals in the Second and Eighth Circuits, as well as state appellate courts in New York and Maryland.

With a truly national practice, Jake has worked on federal investigations with more than two dozen U.S. Attorney’s Offices, including those in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, Newark, Baltimore, Miami, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, New Orleans, Columbia, Savannah, Seattle, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Wilmington, and Washington D.C.

Jake has also worked with government agencies, including the Offices of Inspector General (OIG) and Offices of General Counsel (OGC) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its sub-agencies the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Defense (DoD) and its service branches (Army, Navy, & Air Force) and sub-agency the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its sub-agencies Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Commerce, Department of Treasury, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Small Business Administration (SBA).

Prior to joining the Justice Department, Jake spent twelve years in private practice at two prominent international law firms in New York and Washington D.C. where his practice focused on complex civil litigation and appeals.

Jake received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003, where he served on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1999 with an A.B. in Government. Following law school, Jake clerked for the Honorable Emilio M. Garza on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Select Representations:

• Representing a government contractor in a bid rigging investigation under the False Claims Act and Sherman Act.
• Representing a large government contractor in a cybersecurity investigation under the False Claims Act.
• Representing a large government contractor in a DEI investigation under the False Claims Act.
• Representing a pharmaceutical company in a False Claims Act investigation regarding alleged violations of the Anti-kickback Statute and restrictions on off-label marketing of drugs.
• Representing a government contractor in the healthcare sector in a cybersecurity and offshoring investigation under the False Claims Act.
• Representing a private equity firm and its former portfolio company in a False Claims Act investigation of a loan made pursuant to the Payment Protection Program.
• Advising a number of companies on False Claims Act risks in the area of customs and tariff enforcement.
• Advising a number of companies on False Claims Act risks in the area of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.

Speaking Engagements:

• Panelist, “The False Claims Act: How In-House Counsel Can Prepare and Respond to Emerging Threats and Escalating Damage,” Government Investigations & Civil Litigation Institute, Santa Fe, NM, November 13, 2025.
• Speaker, “False Claims Act Enforcement in the New Administration: DEI, Immigration, and Trade,” Annual Conference of the American Petroleum Labor Lawyers Association, Houston, TX, October 24, 2025.
• Panelist, “Cybersecurity Fraud Enforcement: Key Developments and Issues,” panel sponsored by American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section Procurement Fraud and False Claims Committee and the Cybersecurity Privacy and Emerging Technology Committee, Washington, D.C., June 3, 2025.
• Panelist, “CMMC and Cybersecurity Enforcement in Higher Education,” PreVail Higher Education Summit, May 13, 2025.
• Panelist, “Expanding the Scope: Private Equity Liability in False Claims Act Cases,” ACI’s False Claims and Qui Tam Enforcement Conference, New York, NY, January 28, 2025.
• Co-Chair, “The Government and Modern FCA Practice,” Federal Bar Association’s 2024 Qui Tam Conference, Washington, D.C., February 23, 2024.

Publications:

• Jake M. Shields, Michael R. Dziuban, & Andrew Becker, Trump Tariffs Promise Increased False Claims Act Scrutiny for Companies Throughout the Import Chain, Global Trade Magazine, April 23, 2025.
• Jake M. Shields, Michael R. Dziuban, & Danilo Risteski, Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments, Law360, February 28, 2025.
• Jake M. Shields & Ellen Bowden McIntyre, Illegal Payment of Kickbacks to Medicare Beneficiaries: Routine Copayment Waivers, Copayment Assistance Charities, and Free Items and Services, Department of Justice Journal of Law and Practice, v. 70. n. 3, August 2022. 

Press Mentions:

• Quoted in: Fraser Tennant, Intensified Enforcement: Trade Fraud Task Force Targets Trade Violations, Financier Worldwide, January 2026.
• Quoted in: Tom Auchterlone, Massachusetts Pressures GPs with False Claim Act Update, Private Funds CFO, August 4, 2025.
• Quoted in: Corrine Ramey, Battling Tariff Fraud Is a Little-Known Front in Trump’s Trade War, Wall Street Journal, July 14, 2025.

Capabilities

• White Collar Defense and Investigations
• Aerospace and Defense
• Antitrust and Competition
• Consumer Protection
• FDA and Health Care
• False Claims Act / Qui Tam Defense
• Government Contracts
• Life Sciences
• Litigation
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation

Credentials

Education:

• University of Virginia - 2003 Juris Doctor
• Dartmouth College - 1999 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• District of Columbia Bar
• New York Bar

Clerkships:

• US Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, Hon. Emilio M. Garza, 2003 - 2004