Kenneth M. Abell: Redefining Boutique Law Firms

Meet Mr. Kenneth M. Abell, a seasoned litigator, tireless advocate, trusted advisor to his clients, and Founder of Abell Eskew Landau (“AEL”). He graduated from Northwestern Law School in 2001 and worked for a commercial litigation boutique in his hometown, Chicago, before moving to New York with his family in 2007. He then clerked in the SDNY and joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the EDNY in 2008. He served as an AUSA for ten years, with the last four and a half years as the Chief of Healthcare Fraud in the Civil Division.

AEL is a boutique law firm specializing in government enforcement matters, white-collar criminal defense, healthcare regulatory and transactional matters, False Claims Act (“FCA”) and whistleblower cases, and complex commercial litigation focusing on the healthcare industry. The boutique firm leverages its founders’ experience as AUSAs in the civil and criminal divisions of two of the most prestigious U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the country to provide a unique perspective, unrivaled advocacy and a practical, result-oriented approach. AEL regularly defends various corporations, executives, and individuals in parallel proceedings, including healthcare fraud cases.

With the collective experience of more than 30 years investigating, prosecuting, and defending some of the most significant FCA matters, AEL is well-positioned to handle FCA matters of all types and sizes. It provides counsel in various FCA actions to numerous institutions including hospital systems, nursing homes, labs, and physician practices. The boutique firm also provides counsel to individuals in high-stakes investigations and government enforcement actions brought by the United States Department of Justice, state Attorney General’s offices, and whistleblowers.

“When people talk, listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen.”- Ernest Hemingway

The Inception Story

Together with the other two AEL founders, David Eskew and Scott Landau, Ken recognized a need for a boutique firm offering sophisticated counsel in high-stakes matters. They noticed a significant amount of bloat and inefficiency in the handling of large government enforcement matters by other law firms, and discovered an opportunity to provide counsel to individuals and entities in a leaner and more cost-effective manner, thereby enhancing the quality of work. Ken says, “Thus far, our intuition has proven to be accurate as we have been fortunate to have plenty of work and, more importantly, obtain outstanding results for our clients without leaving them in financial distress.”

The Differentiating Factor

Based on its founders’ experience as criminal and civil AUSAs, AEL offers unrivaled insights into parallel government investigations of entities or individuals on civil and criminal tracks. “The goal, of course, is to have those investigations conclude with civil-only resolutions (i.e., avoiding criminal charges), and we are experts at determining how best to arrive at that result.”– says Ken.

Every member of the boutique firm has deep knowledge and experience in various healthcare matters, especially matters under the FCA. AEL is aware that only a few BigLaw firms and even fewer boutiques can offer their clients the same knowledge and expertise.

Filling a Void

At the outset, Ken and the other AEL founders’ primary mission was to fill a void in the traditional legal market. They all took a huge risk in turning away BigLaw compensation and stability to start their own firm. Initially, many thought that Ken and his co-founders were taking an oversized risk by launching a small firm that would compete against the big and already-established names in the legal industry. However, the founders knew, both from experience and intuition, that there was widespread dissatisfaction with how legal services were traditionally being provided.

From the very first day, AEL has endeavored to create an attractive model with sophisticated and sharp counsel at rates more reasonable than the BigLaw firms.

Tackling Challenges

Matters that AEL handles are especially stressful as its clients are often up against the massive resources of the federal and state governments & their agencies. The team at AEL becomes personally invested in every one of their cases and is dedicated to achieving the best possible results for their clients. On a daily basis, the AEL team can be found in the trenches with their clients, fighting for their interests and well-being. There are times when best results come through a conciliatory approach, while other situations require a more combative posture.

“But to me, the most challenging aspect of my job is to always keep a clear and level head amidst these highly stressful situations so that we may focus on the task at hand – doing our best to steer our clients out of trouble and toward a positive resolution.” – says Ken.

Picture of the Future

Ken and the team consider themselves fortunate to have had enough work to bring on five additional attorneys since AEL was launched two and a half years ago in 2020. The firm expects to continue its growth phase in years to come, commensurate with the workflow. However, Ken and his partners intend to keep AEL as a boutique firm, as its identity is tied closely with efficiency and leanness in the services it provides.

Ken is extremely proud of the results AEL has achieved to date and takes great satisfaction in delivering those outcomes to its clients.

He further says, “When our clients have a question or need advice, they can always reach us and do not have to go through several layers to get to us. That aspect of our services is in some way the backbone of AEL, and we will make sure it continues.”