Allison Cook

My Five Favorite Books: Allison Cook (Partner at Reese Marketos)

When I started practicing law, reading for pleasure took on another hurdle: I was intellectually intimidated. I assumed all lawyers were reading the likes of Kafka, Proust, and Tolstoy for fun. And after spending my days reading case law and briefs, the last thing I wanted to do was crack open Anna Karenina. So I simply didn’t read anything.

Now I confidently crack open yet another Frieda McFadden thriller next to my insanely intellectually curious husband, who is reading yet another Dostoevsky book. Ten years ago, that might have made me self-conscious. Now it just makes me laugh.

March 18, 2026 Allison Cook

Who Qualifies as an ‘Officer of the United States?’ The Answer May Surprise You

Courts have historically wrestled with who qualifies as an “Officer of the United States”— a term that is used five times in the Constitution and its amendments. Considering that the federal government employs nearly 3 million people, some of the confusion is warranted. But not all. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court faced the question of whether the president qualified as an officer of the United States. The Court ultimately decided the case on different grounds without clarification on this point.

A federal district court in Florida ruled three weeks ago that any individual who files a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act is an officer of the U.S. and that the FCA's qui tam provisions are unconstitutional because whistleblowers are not appointed by the executive branch.

October 22, 2024 Allison Cook