Margaret J. Finerty is a partner at Getnick & Getnick LLP. Ms. Finerty’s practice focuses on Federal and State False Claims Act qui tam cases, as well as IRS and SEC Whistleblower matters. She coordinates the firm’s IRS Whistleblower practice, as well as its IPSIG (Independent Private Sector Inspector General) and monitoring work.  She also represents private clients in addressing fraud, business integrity and compliance matters.  Ms. Finerty has creatively applied the New York False Claims act in cases against a major electrical utility company, and an upstate New York heating fuel company which was stealing funds from both government entities and private individuals. The whistleblowers in each of these cases received an award of 23.5% of the recovery to New York State.

Before joining the firm, Ms. Finerty had a distinguished career in public service. She served as a Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York and, prior to that, she worked for many years in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office under the leadership of District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau.  

Ms. Finerty has been an active member of several professional associations throughout her career. These include Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund (TAFEF), a public interest non-profit organization dedicated to fighting fraud against the government by working to protect whistleblowers and strengthen whistleblower laws. She is a member of TAFEF’s IRS Whistleblower Committee, and a frequent participant on its educational panels. Ms. Finerty is a member of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), where she currently serves on its Standing Committee on Gun Violence.  She previously served as a Liaison to the ABA’s Task Force on Corporate Monitors Standards and a Commissioner on the ABA Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Commission. She belongs to the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”), where she served for 8 years as an elected Member-At-Large on its Executive Committee, and is a longstanding member of its House of Delegates.  Ms. Finerty co-chaired a Task Force on “Mass Shootings and Assault Weapons,” which issued a final report with recommendations in 2020 adopted by NYSBA’s House of Delegates.  She also serves on NYSBA’s Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct, and Committee on Professional Ethics.  She is a member of the New York County Lawyers’ Association, where she serves on its Board of Directors and chairs its Judiciary Committee. She is also a member of the New York City Bar and has served for many years on its Judiciary Committee, which evaluates all judges being considered for the state and federal bench in New York City.

Ms. Finerty was appointed by the Governor in March 2021 to the statutorily created New York State Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking, where she serves as the representative of the New York State Bar Association.

Ms. Finerty has authored two articles relating to gun regulation in the New York State Bar Association Journal:  The Supreme Court’s Bruen Decision and Its Impact:  What Comes Next?, 94 N.Y. State Bar Ass’n J., Sept/Oct 2022, at 8; and Supreme Court Takes Gun Law Case for the First Time in a Decade, 93 N.Y. State Bar Ass’n J., July/Aug. 2021, at 12.

Ms. Finerty has taught numerous Continuing Legal Education courses on the False Claims Act, IRS/SEC Whistleblower law, monitorships, legal ethics, and the investigation and prosecution of fraud cases. She has also lectured extensively on trial techniques. She has received the Martindale-Hubbell® highest AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating.  

Ms. Finerty received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago, graduating with General Honors, and her Juris Doctorate from Cornell Law School. She is admitted to practice in the following courts:  United States Supreme Court, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and all courts in the State of New York.