"Qui tam" (pronounced "kwee tam") is the abbreviation for the Latin phrase "qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur," which translates as "he who pursues this action on our Lord the King's behalf as well as his own."

In addition to the federal False Claims Act, which addresses false claims involving federal funding, there are state false claims acts in California, Nevada, and approximately a dozen other states that prohibit fraud against state, county, district, and municipal government entities.

The False Claims Act provides that whistle blowers be rewarded with a percentage of the money that the Government recovers as a result of their qui tam lawsuits, disclosing how someone used a lie to cheat the Government in some context other than taxes. Under the False Claims Act the Government may recover up to three times the amount of money it lost as a result of the defendant's fraud. The relator's share is calculated based upon the amount the government recovers, not the actual losses. Mr. Bartley personally evaluates potential False Claims Act cases free of charge. Of those cases Mr. Bartley elects to take, our offices work on a contingent fee basis, hourly basis, or hybrid fee basis, depending on the client's resources, needs, and objectives.

Though Mr. Bartley's offices are located in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California, he works on select qui tam cases on a pro hac vice basis with local counsel around the Country, coast-to-coast.