Jamie R. Kurtz

Jamie R. Kurtz is a trial lawyer and Co-Chair of Robins Kaplan’s Health Care Litigation Group. She represents health plans and other healthcare payors in high-stakes disputes involving provider fraud, reimbursement, improper billing, and breach of contract claims. Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading healthcare litigator, she has secured significant results for clients. In the past decade, Jamie and the Healthcare team at Robins Kaplan have secured nearly a billion dollars for clients in affirmative litigation and arbitrations.

Jamie brings a creative and distinctive perspective to disputes involving healthcare payors, working closely with clients to identify affirmative claims and counterclaims that may not be apparent at the outset of a matter. She and her team work with clients to uncover issues involving kickbacks, misuse of contractual arrangements, and deceptive or unfair payment practices. This approach allows Jamie to develop strategies that pursue affirmative relief, create new avenues for recovery, and, where appropriate, turn a defensive matter into an opportunity to pursue claims on the client’s behalf.

Before focusing her practice on healthcare litigation, Jamie represented pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies in intellectual property disputes. Jamie holds a Master of Science in Pharmacology from the University of Minnesota; this background gives her a unique ability to understand technical evidence, work effectively with expert witnesses, and develop persuasive trial strategies.

Healthcare Payor Litigation

Healthcare payors rely on Jamie to handle disputes involving provider conduct, reimbursement, and complex business relationships across the healthcare industry.

• Recovers payments obtained through provider fraud, including upcoding, kickbacks, and other improper billing schemes.
• Represents healthcare payors in high-stakes pharmaceutical and Medicare cost-sharing disputes with significant financial and regulatory implications.
• Handles complex commercial disputes where litigation strategy must account for regulatory compliance, operational impact, and significant financial exposure.

Scientific and Trial Advantage

Jamie's scientific training and trial experience allow her to translate highly technical issues into compelling courtroom advocacy.

• Quickly analyzes medical, pharmaceutical, and scientific evidence central to complex disputes.
• Works closely with medical, scientific, and damages experts throughout litigation.
• Presents complicated technical concepts clearly and persuasively to judges, juries, and arbitrators.

Her Approach

Jamie approaches every case with the mindset of both a trial lawyer and a trusted business partner. She works closely with clients to understand not only the legal issues driving a dispute, but also the broader business, financial, and operational considerations that shape their objectives. With those priorities in mind, Jamie develops practical litigation strategies early, helping clients evaluate risk, make informed decisions, and pursue outcomes that make sense for their business. At the same time, she prepares each matter as though it will ultimately be tried, ensuring her clients are positioned to negotiate from strength or take the case through trial when necessary.

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude; Intellectual Property Moot Court (2010)
• University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, M.S., Pharmacology (2010)
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.S., Pharmacology and Toxicology, with honors (2007)

Representative Matters

Represented Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri and other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in litigation against defendants who conspired to defraud the healthcare insurers through utilization of a laboratory pass-through billing scheme. The defendants and their co-conspirators took control of a Critical Access Hospital in Unionville, MO called Putnam County Memorial Hospital, and used the hospital to bill our clients $18 million for lab tests performed by their laboratory in Colorado. By billing the tests through the hospital, they obtained substantially inflated reimbursements. Robins Kaplan secured a jury verdict for compensatory and punitive damages totaling $25.6 million.

PCT International Inc. v. Holland Electronics LLC. Represented plaintiff in a patent infringement case involving coaxial cable connector technology. Won a jury verdict of infringement in May of 2015.

Defense counsel for Upsher-Smith Laboratories in Auxilium Pharmaceuticals v. Upsher-Smith Laboratories, a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement case in which we obtained a summary judgment of non-infringement of ten patents claiming a transdermal testosterone gel and method of treating hypogonadism before Judge Sue Robinson of the Federal District Court in Delaware. The opinion was filed on December 4, 2013. The technology related to claimed macrocyclic penetration enhancers for increasing the rate of passage of an androgen through the skin. We were successful in demonstrating to the Court that the case warranted an exception to the Court’s ordinary practice of declining to hear summary judgment motions in Hatch-Waxman cases.

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation v. Siemens AG, et al. Represented the Wisconsin Alumni Research foundation in a case involving magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. Settled for value.

Promega Corp. v. Applied Biosystems, LLC, et al. Represented Promega in a case involving DNA analysis technologies. Won summary judgment of invalidity of all asserted claims.

Forest Laboratories, Inc. v. Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Represented client in litigation to bring generic Bystolic® (nebivolol) to market. Settled for value.

• Named a "Minnesota Litigation Star," Benchmark Litigation (2027)
• Named a "Leading Practitioner in Healthcare," Chambers USA (2026)
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2023-2026 editions)

• Named a “Woman Worth Watching in Leadership,” Profiles in Leadership Journal (2025)

• Named to "Top Lawyers List," Minnesota Monthly (2024)

• Named "Attorney of the Year," Minnesota Lawyer (2021)
• Named a "Rising Star," Law360 (2020)
• Named an "Associate to Watch," Chambers (2017)
• Named a "Minnesota Rising Star," Super Lawyers (2015-2021)

Speeches

• Identifying Opportunities: Affirmative Recovery Strategies
  Association of Corporate Counsel Minnesota CLE (August 6, 2024)
• MCOs on Trial: War Stories, and Winning Strategies from In-House and Outside Counsel
  ACI Managed Care Disputes and Litigation 14th Annual Advanced Forum, Chicago, Illinois (March 30, 2023)
• How Affirmative Recovery Can Make Legal a Valued Business Partner
  Panelist, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Minnesota In-House Counsel Conference, Webinar (June 17, 2021)
• A Practical Guide for Assessing and Responding to Potential Data Breach
  10th Annual Advanced Forum on Managed Care Disputes and Litigation, Chicago, Illinois (May 17, 2019)
• FDA Regulation of Mobile Medical Devices and Apps: New Guidance On When Your App Crosses The Medical Device Line
  Robins Kaplan LLP Webinar (February 10, 2015)

Media Mentions

• "2025 Women Worth Watching in Leadership," Profiles in Diversity Journal (December, 2025)
• “Upsher-Smith Secures Summary Judgment Noninfringement Ruling on Testim Patents,” Bloomberg BNA Pharmaceutical Law & Industry Report, Vol. 11, No. 48 (December 13, 2013)