Ethan P. Davis

Ethan Davis is a litigation and investigations partner in the Special Matters and Government Investigations Practice Group.  He defends executives and companies facing U.S. Justice Department investigations, qui tam litigation, and other litigation under a variety of statutes, including the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the healthcare fraud laws, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Controlled Substances Act, and the Consumer Product Safety Act.  Until September 2020, Ethan served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the Department’s largest litigating division, where he supervised approximately 1,000 lawyers.  In that role, Ethan oversaw the Civil Division’s investigations and litigation under the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the other statutes described above, and played a key role in laying the groundwork to combat fraud in the CARES Act’s stimulus programs.

Previously, Ethan served as the Civil Division's Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General.  Before that, he was the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Consumer Protection Branch, which enforces the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  During his time at DOJ, Ethan served on the Deputy Attorney General’s corporate enforcement working group and led the Civil Division’s fight against the opioid crisis and elder fraud, including overseeing the Civil Division’s Elder Justice Initiative and the Division’s participation in the DOJ’s National Nursing Home Initiative.  He was also one of the key DOJ leaders in developing policies related to COVID-19 and False Claims Act enforcement strategies to address fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program, the Main Street Lending Program, and the Provider Relief Fund. 

Prior to his government service, Ethan was a partner at King & Spalding.  While in private practice, he has represented a variety of executives and companies facing DOJ investigations and qui tam litigation, including pharmaceutical and medical device companies, suppliers, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health companies, pharmacies, technology companies, and others.  Ethan also counsels clients on developing and improving their compliance programs and policies, and represents them in high-stakes, complex commercial and government-facing litigation.  He has also participated in significant intellectual property matters, as well as cases in the energy sector.  

Ethan is an accomplished litigator who has argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, many other federal and state courts, and who has participated in multiple trials.  He clerked for Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain on the Ninth Circuit, and Justice Neil M. Gorsuch on the U.S. Supreme Court.