Biography
Denver Built Around the Whistleblower's Decision
Career
Marcus Cicero leads the Denver office and co-chairs the firm's False Claims Act practice with Jessica Pearson. He joined Holdsworth & Inkwell as a partner in 2017 and opened the Denver office in 2019 to extend the firm's FCA practice into the Tenth Circuit.
False Claims Act Practice
His FCA practice focuses on qui tam representation and pre-litigation counseling for potential relators. He has obtained over $180 million in qui tam recoveries for relators across healthcare, defense contracting, and financial services. His pre-litigation work guides potential relators through disclosure timing, evidence preservation, and the strategic decisions that shape whether the government intervenes. He has briefed and argued FCA matters before the Federal Circuit and Tenth Circuit.
Background
He clerked for the Honorable Michael R. Murphy of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals from 2005 to 2006. Before joining Holdsworth & Inkwell, he was a partner at a national plaintiffs' firm in Washington, D.C., for eleven years.
Credentials
Built Deliberately, Over Time
Marcus Cicero's professional record reflects the same discipline he brings to preparing a case: build it methodically, and let it stand on its own. What follows is that record, assembled over the course of his practice. For the fuller picture across the firm, see our credentials.
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
Education
- A.B., Classics, Princeton University, 2002 (summa cum laude)
- J.D., Yale Law School, 2005
Attorneys are licensed only in the jurisdictions listed in their individual credentials. Admission to practice varies by attorney and by court; nothing on this page implies licensure in any jurisdiction not expressly stated.
Recognition
- Meridian Legal Register | Group 3, Litigation: General Commercial (Colorado)
- Top Lawyers in America | False Claims Act Litigation, 2025
- Colorado Distinguished Counsel | Healthcare & Government Litigation, 2023
Practice Areas
Where the Work Concentrates
The areas below reflect where Marcus Cicero's preparation runs deepest. Each one, whether a single concentration or several, reflects sustained, ongoing work, not a list built for breadth's own sake.
Practice Area
Commercial Litigation
Trial-tested representation for businesses navigating contract disputes, business torts, and competitive harm.
Practice Area
False Claims Act Litigation
Whistleblower representation in qui tam actions exposing healthcare fraud, procurement fraud, and grant fraud against the government.
Sectors
Beyond the Practice Areas
A legal matter unfolds inside a business, and each industry brings its own pressures, practices, and blind spots. The sectors below are where Marcus has worked closely enough to know that context going in.
Experience
The Groundwork Behind the Record
The matters below are drawn from work Marcus Cicero has actually handled at the firm. Each carries the same groundwork: records built early, positions tested against the specific facts at hand rather than assumed from precedent. They describe his practice to date; they are not a forecast of how any future matter will resolve.
Reversed Default Termination at the Federal Circuit for Defense Supplier
appellate-ruling2026ColoradoSecured Tenth Circuit Affirmance in Government Contractor FCA Defense
trial-verdict2026ColoradoResolved Kansas Medicaid FCA Action Through Settlement
settlement2025KansasResolved Pennsylvania Federal FCA Action Through Coordinated Settlement
settlement2025PennsylvaniaSecured Dismissal of Qui Tam Healthcare FCA Action
dismissal2023California
Resources
Insights & Analysis
Marcus Cicero writes on the matters he handles as they unfold, testing whether the standard approach actually fits before relying on it. What follows is his own analysis, offered directly rather than filtered through the firm's collective voice.
white-paper
The But-For Causation Split and the Certification Backdoor: Defending AKS-Tainted False Claims
After Regeneron, three circuits require but-for causation for AKS-based FCA claims. But the false-certification pathway requires none. A defense framework for both tracks.
white-paper
The Excessive Fines Ceiling on FCA Penalties: Litigating Proportionality After Yates, Zorn, and Taylor
Per-claim FCA penalties can dwarf actual damages. A defense framework for invoking the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause to cap disproportionate penalty exposure.
article
The Public Disclosure Bar After Recent Federal Authority
Federal and state FCA public disclosure bar doctrine after the 2010 amendments, with attention to original source exception, materiality interactions, and parallel state-level frameworks.
article
State FCA Frameworks Without a State FCA: Federal Enforcement in Pennsylvania and Similar Jurisdictions
Pennsylvania and a handful of other states operate without comprehensive state False Claims Acts. The single-track federal enforcement framework reshapes FCA defense practice in these jurisdictions.
Announcements
News & Activity
Marcus Cicero's practice generates activity beyond any single case file. What follows is a running account connected to his work, reflecting the same preparation and judgment he brings to every matter he takes on.
Denver Energy Sector Insurance Recovery Seminar
The Denver office hosted an afternoon seminar on insurance recovery practice for energy sector clients, covering carrier coordination, subrogation defense, and recovery strategy frameworks.
Marcus Cicero to Present at HCCA 2025 Annual Compliance Institute
Marcus Cicero, Office Managing Partner of the Denver office, will present at the 2025 HCCA Annual Compliance Institute on federal and state False Claims Act developments in healthcare compliance.
Federal FCA Pleading Specificity After Recent Authority
Federal circuit authority on Rule 9(b) pleading specificity in False Claims Act matters continues to develop. Update on the current state of authority across federal circuits and implications for defense practice.
Holdsworth & Inkwell Recognized in 2024 Meridian Legal Register Rankings
The firm has been recognized in the 2024 Meridian Legal Register rankings across multiple practice areas and states, with individual rankings for attorneys in commercial litigation, false claims act, and wildfire litigation.
Holdsworth & Inkwell Sponsors 2024 DRI Annual Meeting
The firm sponsored the 2024 Defense Research Institute Annual Meeting, the leading national gathering for civil defense attorneys, with firm attorneys participating in panels and substantive programming.
Webinar: The FCA Public Disclosure Bar After Recent Federal Authority
Marcus Cicero and Annalise Keating presented a webinar on the federal and state False Claims Act public disclosure bar after the 2010 amendments, covering original source exception and materiality interactions.
Team
Working Alongside Him
A matter rarely moves on one person's schedule alone. The attorneys, paralegals, and staff who support Marcus Cicero's work are introduced below, the people a client may come to know as a matter is staffed, prepared, and carried forward.
Location
Where to Find Him
The details below show where Marcus is based. The same standard of preparation and judgment holds across every office the firm keeps.
Phone (303) 866-2604
Fax (303) 867-5309
- Monday
- 7:30 AM – 5 PM
- Tuesday
- 7:30 AM – 5 PM
- Wednesday
- 7:30 AM – 5 PM
- Thursday
- 7:30 AM – 5 PM
- Friday
- 7:30 AM – 5 PM
- Saturday
- Closed
- Sunday
- Closed
Business Profiles
Find Marcus Online
Marcus Cicero maintains a presence on a range of professional and business platforms beyond this site. These listings reflect where he can be found online, distinct from the credentials described above. The links below lead to his profiles elsewhere.
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