Brent D. Craft
Practice Areas
Education
- University of Kentucky College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2009
Order of the Coif - Transylvania University, B.A., summa cum laude, 2006
Bar & Court Admissions
Brent is an associate in the Vorys Cincinnati office and a member of the litigation group. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, cybersecurity and data privacy, qui tam and federal False Claims Act cases, ERISA, government procurement law, intellectual property law, and internet defamation. Brent has represented large corporations and individuals in both state and federal courts.
Notable experience includes:
- Serving as member of the trial team defending False Claims Act litigation in the Southern District of Ohio, involving alleged liability of more than $1 billion
- Representing and advising multiple corporate, banking, insurance, and non-profit clients on a variety of issues regarding data breach and cybersecurity law
- Defeated class certification on behalf of a third party administrator regarding alleged status of the client as an ERISA fiduciary and related alleged violations of ERISA
- Successfully served as lead counsel in a variety of coverage dispute matters for several insurance industry clients
- Successfully served as lead counsel in commercial litigation alleging fraud and conversion of property
- Conducting independent investigations for large corporate clients regarding regulatory compliance and potential litigation
- Successfully pursuing claims for defamation and obtaining removal of defamatory material from the internet
- Obtaining substantial recoveries, including seven-figure amounts, for clients in intellectual property and complex commercial litigation
- Successfully representing clients in multiple federal and state courts
Brent has presented on the issues of data security, privacy and data breach, and legal ethics in the area of cybersecurity to various groups, organizations, and governmental bodies, including the Kentucky legislature, the Kentucky Bar Association, the Kentucky appellate judiciary, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives.
Brent teaches intellectual property law – including patent, copyright and trademark law – as an adjunct professor at the Northern Kentucky University – Salmon P. Chase College of Law.
Brent received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Kentucky College of Law and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from Transylvania University.
Professional and Community Activities
- Cincinnati Bar Association, Character and Fitness Committee, Member
- Kentucky Bar Association, Member
- Salmon P. Chase Inn of Court, Member
News
- 2/7/2019Vorys attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, JB Lind and Brent Craft were invited to present to the Kentucky General Assembly’s House Committee on Small Business and Information Technology on February 7, 2019.
Events
- 12/5/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on December 5-6, 2019.
- 11/21/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on November 21-22, 2019.
- 10/31/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on October 31, 2019.
- 10/17/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on October 17-18, 2019.
- 10/10/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on October 10-11, 2019.
- 10/2/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on October 2-3, 2019.
- 9/26/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on September 26-27, 2019.
- 9/12/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on September 12-13, 2019.
- 8/29/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft spoke at the 2019 Kentucky Law Update on August 29-30, 2019.
- 6/14/2019Vorys Attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind and Brent Craft presented at the 2019 Kentucky Bar Association Annual Convention on June 14, 2019.
- 2/7/2019Vorys attorneys Eric Richardson, Jake Mahle, J.B. Lind, and Brent Craft presented to the Kentucky House of Representatives’ Standing Small Business & Information Technology Committee on February 7, 2019.
- 12/13/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented at the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 12/7/2018Vorys attorneys Brent Craft, J.B. Lind, Jake Mahle and Eric Richardson presented at the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s New Era of Cybersecurity event on December 7, 2018.
- 11/29/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented at the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 11/15/2018Vorys attorneys Brent Craft, J.B. Lind, Jake Mahle and Eric Richardson presented at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s cybersecurity event on November 15, 2018.
- 10/31/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented at the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 10/17/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented at the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 10/4/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented at the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 9/27/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented in the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 9/13/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented in the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 8/24/2018Four Vorys attorneys presented in the Kentucky Bar Association’s 2018 Kentucky Law Update.
- 4/19/2018On April 19, 2018 three Vorys attorneys presented at the 2018 Kentucky Court of Appeals Spring Conference in Frankfort, Kentucky
Insights
- 9/4/2019Businesses of all sizes face ongoing threats to the security of their and their customers’ data. Taking steps to secure your customers’ information can protect you from financial liability and reputational harm.
- 9/7/2018Large companies are not the only businesses that have an obligation to protect their customers’ data.
- 3/28/2018The United States Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari last month in CareFirst, Inc. v. Attias permitting a data breach class action to proceed against a medical insurer.
- 5/2/2017On May 1, 2017, the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) case in which the eelator had asserted that Genentech concealed information about side effects of its cancer drug, Avastin. U.S. ex rel. Petratos, v. Genentech Inc., et al., Case No. 15-3805 (3rd Cir. May 1, 2017).
- 12/19/2016On December 6, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down their second unanimous interpretation of the contours of the False Claims Act (FCA) in the last six months.
- 9/19/2016Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit established a standard for application of Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) that significantly strengthens the bar imposed by the heightened pleading requirements of that rule.
- 8/3/2015A decision last week in an FCA case in Pennsylvania confirms that the FCA’s first-to-file bar has been weakened. See U.S. ex rel. Boise v. Cephalon, Inc., No. 08-CV-287 (E.D. Pa.). The court in the Cephalon case confirmed that the Supreme Court’s decision in Kellogg Brown & Root Servs., Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter means that the first-to-file bar does not apply when a previously filed case is no longer pending.
- 5/26/2015Last month, the Sixth Circuit reaffirmed the fair market value (FMV) standard as the primary measure of damages in False Claims Act (FCA) cases—and demonstrated the teeth of that requirement when evidence (including expert testimony) is not presented to support an FMV determination. United States v. United Technologies Corp., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 5476 (6th Cir. April 6, 2015), represented the culmination of a decades-long dispute between the government and United Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney unit over pricing for engines supplied to the Air Force for use in its F-15 and F-16 aircraft.
- 7/1/2014Today, the Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Kellogg Brown & Root Servs., Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter. The petition presented two questions: (1) whether the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act (WSLA) applies to claims of civil fraud brought by qui tam relators, and (2) whether the False Claims Act’s (FCA) first-to-file rule is an absolute bar or whether it permits subsequent actions so long as the first-filed action had been dismissed on non-merits grounds prior to filing of the subsequent action.