Government Contracts

  • February 03, 2025

    Sotomayor Clears Path For Retrial In Landmark Graft Case

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor lifted a temporary pause Monday on a public corruption case that resulted in a landmark 2023 decision eliminating the right-to-control theory of fraud, clearing the way for a retrial on a traditional theory of property fraud.

  • February 03, 2025

    DC Judge Joins RI In Blocking Trump Funding Freeze

    A D.C. federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing a freeze on federal spending while a group of nonprofits sue over the move, ruling the pause appears to "suffer from infirmities of a constitutional magnitude."

  • February 03, 2025

    Calif. City On The Hook In Contractor Wage Fight, Panel Says

    The city of Long Beach, California, could be required to foot the bill for arbitration awards rendered against an oil company subcontractor in workers' wage lawsuits, a state appellate panel ruled, saying an arbitration decision holds as much weight as any other court order and can trigger liability for indemnity.

  • January 31, 2025

    Funding Freezes 'Commonplace,' Feds Tell DC Judge

    The Trump administration is asking a D.C. federal judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging a freeze on federal spending outlined in a since-rescinded memo from the White House budget office, telling the court that the withdrawal moots the litigation.

  • January 31, 2025

    Trump's Funding Moves Create Heartburn For Energy Cos.

    The Trump administration's about-face on a federal funding freeze hasn't assuaged energy companies' fears that grants and loans they've been awarded may be in jeopardy, presenting legal and practical risks for projects counting on government cash.

  • January 31, 2025

    Trump Ties DOT Funds To Immigration And Other Dictates

    The Trump administration's Department of Transportation says it's not going to provide federal assistance to any states that don't comply with its efforts to deport as many people as possible or those that have vaccine or mask mandates.

  • January 31, 2025

    Top Bribe-Taker In NYC Housing Corruption Bust Gets 4 Years

    A Manhattan federal judge hit a former New York City public housing superintendent with a four-year prison term Friday, after he admitted taking $329,000 in bribes — the largest amount among 70 city workers caught up in a large-scale anti-corruption takedown.

  • January 31, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Aerospace Co. Code Meets Fair Use Standard

    Aerospace contractor Astronics has convinced Ninth Circuit judges that the code used in its replacement parts is covered by the same fair use protections created by the U.S. Supreme Court's Google v. Oracle decision.

  • January 31, 2025

    India Gets Reprieve In $112M Telecom Award Suit

    An Australian appeals court ruled Friday that India can't be held liable for a $112 million arbitral award in a dispute over a terminated deal to deliver communications services, citing a carveout that grants it sovereign immunity in the dispute.

  • January 31, 2025

    Texas Justices Won't Shut Down Court Reporter's AI Case

    A Texas court reporter will be permitted to continue pursuing an administrative complaint against an artificial intelligence-powered "digital reporting firm," after the administrative agency in charge of court stenography in Texas lost its bid for the state's high court to end the case on Friday.

  • January 31, 2025

    Supreme Court Eyes Its 'Next Frontier' In FCC Delegation Case

    A case about broadband subsidies will give the U.S. Supreme Court the chance to revive a long-dormant separation of powers principle that attorneys say could upend regulations in numerous industries and trigger a power shift that would make last term's shake-up of federal agency authority pale in comparison. And a majority of the court already appears to support its resurrection.

  • January 31, 2025

    After High Court, SuperValu's $123M FCA Case Heads To Trial

    SuperValu is bound for trial in February over whistleblower claims that it billed the government higher-than-customary prices for millions of prescriptions, marking an important test of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that revived the case and redefined the standard of proof under the False Claims Act.

  • February 14, 2025

    Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2025 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2025 editorial advisory boards.

  • January 31, 2025

    Trump Funding Freeze Blocked As Court Doubts Reversal

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from freezing spending on federal grant and aid programs, calling the move illegal and saying the issue was not mooted by a White House memo claiming the directive had been rescinded.

  • January 30, 2025

    CMS Fine To Limit $41M Deal Talks To Lowest-Priced Bidders

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has ruled that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reasonably limited its final best-value choice on a $40.8 million task order for medical auditing services to the two lowest-priced bidders.

  • January 30, 2025

    Sheriffs Raise Concern About New FCC Prison Phone Caps

    A sheriffs' group brought concerns to the Federal Communications Commission about recently adopted caps on prison phone rates, saying the exclusion of certain cost categories would lead to less access to services for the incarcerated.

  • January 30, 2025

    NOAA Not Liable For Unordered Items, Judge Says

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration doesn't owe anything to a nonprofit that stocked up on inventory to be able to meet the terms of a blanket purchase agreement only to see the items go unordered, a Court of Federal Claims judge ruled.

  • January 30, 2025

    Gov't Urges High Court To OK 2nd 'Buffalo Billion' Trial

    The federal government asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clear the way for a second trial in a public corruption case tied to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" development initiative, saying prosecutors should be allowed to pursue charges under a different theory after the justices undid the original convictions.

  • January 30, 2025

    Pa. Pot Panels Not 'Arbitrary' In Assigning Different Scores

    A Pennsylvania appeals panel rejected a petition from a dispensary owner who challenged the state Department of Health's denial of one of his applications, finding the DOH wasn't arbitrary just because two of his proposed locations received different scores on their identical applications.

  • January 30, 2025

    Food Co. Pays $950K To Settle Claims Over Ineligible Bidding

    California-based GS Foods Group Inc. has agreed to pay the federal government nearly $950,000 to resolve claims it bid on contracts reserved for small businesses, despite not qualifying as a small business, in violation of the False Claims Act.

  • January 29, 2025

    4th Circ. Mulls If Tossing No-Poach Suit Rewards Bad Behavior

    As the Fourth Circuit mulled the idea of reviving a proposed class action accusing military shipbuilding contractors of agreeing not to poach each other's engineers, one judge rebuffed the idea that the suit had no legs because there were no specific allegations of fraudulent concealment.

  • January 29, 2025

    Gov't Contractors Want More Clarity On Trump Orders

    Vague requirements in Trump administration orders affecting federal spending and differing implementations in related agency directives have left federal contractors confused and seeking more clarity from the government, a contractor industry group said Wednesday.

  • January 29, 2025

    Lab Co-Owner Gets 9 Years For $369M COVID Testing Scheme

    The co-owner of a California medical laboratory was sentenced to nine years in prison after being accused of conspiring to defraud Medicare and private insurers out of $369 million by submitting claims for medically unnecessary tests during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

  • January 29, 2025

    EPA Can't Invoke Immunity In Flint Water Crisis Suit

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not entitled to a government immunity defense in a lawsuit filed by Flint, Michigan, residents who claim it failed to take proper action during a lead-tainted drinking water crisis, a federal judge has said.

  • January 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Ax Of Patent Atty's Allergan FCA Fight

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a patent attorney's False Claims Act lawsuit alleging Allergan and Adamas Pharma fraudulently obtained patents to block generic competition for two Alzheimer's drugs, finding the information he disclosed was already publicly available and so his FCA claims are barred.

Expert Analysis

  • Preparing For More Limber Federal Supply Chain Oversight

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    Ahead of the Federal Acquisition Security Council Improvement Act, which would speed up federal acquisition security risk investigations and federal procurement bans, companies should take steps to identify indirect involvement with foreign adversaries in their supply chains and prepare to respond quickly to a FASC recommendation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

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    The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

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    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

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    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Inside The Appeals Board's 2024 Report To Congress

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    An in-depth examination of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ annual report reveals ​a continuing decline in new cases, motions and hearings, a trend that may correspond with ​t​he increased use of alternative dispute resolution, and expedited or accelerated proceedings, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Navigating 4th Circ.'s Antitrust Burden In Hybrid Relationships

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review the Fourth Circuit's Brewbaker decision, a holding that heightens the burden on antitrust prosecutors when the target companies have a hybrid horizontal-vertical relationship, but diverges from other circuits, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Health Policy Predictions For Trump's Second Administration

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    As President-elect Donald Trump's nominations for health policy and enforcement heads work their way through the confirmation process, healthcare organizations can look at nominee backgrounds, campaign statements and actions from Trump's previous presidency to predict incoming priorities, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Perils Of Perfunctory Interpretation

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    Attorneys at Seyfarth examine three recent decisions in which the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and the Federal Circuit ruthlessly dismantled arguments that rely on superficial understandings of different contract terms.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

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