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Government Contracts
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August 14, 2024
DOD Issues Contractor Cybersecurity Implementation Rule
The U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday issued a proposed rule laying out how it will incorporate its stringent pending Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, intended to boost cybersecurity standards across the defense industrial base, into defense contracts.
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August 14, 2024
Air Force Didn't Vet Trade Agreement Compliance On IT Deal
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has sustained an HP Inc. unit's protest over a U.S. Air Force information technology deal, saying the winning bidder didn't properly show whether monitors it offered complied with the Trade Agreements Act.
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August 14, 2024
HHS Calls For More Research, Planning To Combat Heat Risks
Citing a sharp increase in deaths from extreme heat, the Biden administration unveiled a national strategy Wednesday that calls for better communicating the health risks of hot weather to the public and taking other steps to protect people from life-threatening heat waves.
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August 14, 2024
Ohio Panel Says Union Wage Dispute Filed In Wrong Court
An Ohio state appeals court declined to rule on a union's appeal in its suit over whether the state's prevailing wage law pertains to the construction of a college dormitory by a public university because the union sued in the wrong county, avoiding deciding a matter of first impression.
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August 14, 2024
CPSC Foes Widen Assault On New Deal-Era Precedent
A maker of child care products is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of protections barring the president from firing U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission members without good cause, telling the justices that the powerful agency doesn't fit the narrow exceptions to the White House's otherwise unrestricted removal authority.
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August 14, 2024
NC DOT Looks To Ditch Race Bias Suit Over $17.8M Megasite
The North Carolina Department of Transportation wants an early exit from a subcontractor's suit claiming that its Black employees were met with racial discrimination on a large development site, saying the subcontractor's real beef is with the main contractor on the project.
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August 14, 2024
Feds Nab US-Iran Citizen On Aircraft Parts Charges
A dual U.S.-Iranian citizen was charged in D.C. federal court with procuring American aircraft parts and attempting to send them to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
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August 14, 2024
Rising Star: Gibson Dunn's Lindsay Paulin
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's Lindsay Paulin's work in high-profile and novel cases, such as a dispute that helped convince the Pentagon to abandon a controversial $10 billion cloud contract, has earned her a position among the government contracts attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 13, 2024
Calif. Bar Officially Inks $8M Deal With Kaplan For New Exam
The State Bar of California has officially entered into an $8.25 million agreement with Kaplan Exam Services LLC to replace the National Conference of Bar Examiners' exam after four decades of using the NCBE's Multistate Bar Examination, according to an announcement made Tuesday.
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August 13, 2024
Wisconsin Bell Tells Justices FCA Doesn't Apply To E-Rate
AT&T subsidiary Wisconsin Bell Inc. told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that applying the False Claims Act to fraudulent E-rate program reimbursements means turning the "heavy artillery of the administrative state" onto private transactions.
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August 13, 2024
DOD Says Missing License Is Needed To Dispute $1B Fuel Deal
The Defense Logistics Agency has urged the Court of Federal Claims to toss a protest alleging a $1 billion African fuel supply deal requires a license that can only be secured through bribery, saying not already having the license dooms the protester's case.
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August 13, 2024
Poland Inks Estimated $12M Deal For Boeing Military Copters
Boeing announced Tuesday that it inked a deal to sell 96 Apache combat helicopters to Poland for its military, formalizing an estimated $12 billion transaction approved last year.
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August 13, 2024
FirstEnergy Makes Nonprosecution Deal To End Ohio AG Probe
FirstEnergy said Tuesday that it has secured a nonprosecution agreement with Ohio's attorney general stemming from an alleged $1 billion bribery scandal involving the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, with both parties touting the utility company's remediation and compliance improvements.
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August 13, 2024
Janssen Wants New FCA Trial As Relators Seek $1.85B Win
Janssen has urged a New Jersey federal judge to toss a jury's $150 million False Claims Act verdict that found the pharmaceutical company illegally profited from the off-label marketing of popular HIV medications, while whistleblowers have asked the court for a whopping $1.85 billion judgment consisting of trebled damages and statutory penalties.
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August 13, 2024
Contractor Can't DQ Maynard Nexsen From Bias Case
An Alabama federal judge won't disqualify Maynard Nexsen PC from representing a former Parsons Corp. engineer in his discrimination suit against the company for allegedly representing both parties at the same time, saying Parsons' disqualification motion was "unmeritorious."
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August 13, 2024
Rising Star: Morrison Foerster's Caitlin Crujido
Morrison Foerster LLP's Caitlin Crujido's work on prominent contractor acquisition deals and a successful challenge to a $45 billion U.S. Department of Energy contract has earned her a spot among the government contracts attorneys under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 12, 2024
GAO Says VA Deal Awardee Wasn't Missing Key Staff Member
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected Booz Allen Hamilton's protest over a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs agreement for healthcare market assessments, saying there was no evidence that a key worker for the awardee wasn't available to work on the deal.
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August 12, 2024
Judge Won't DQ Asst. US Atty In Standard Chartered FCA Case
A New York federal judge on Monday declined to disqualify an assistant United States attorney from a long-dismissed False Claims Act suit against Standard Chartered Bank, calling the whistleblower's arguments for disqualification meritless "to the point where they verge on vexatious and frivolous."
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August 12, 2024
Deadline Passes For Camp Lejeune Claims
The deadline for U.S. Marine Corps servicemembers and their families to file administrative claims with the federal government over illnesses contracted by contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune passed on Saturday, with more than 320,000 claims that have been filed with the U.S. Navy.
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August 12, 2024
SEC, SolarWinds In Settlement Talks After Cyber Suit Trimmed
Software company SolarWinds Corp. is in talks to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cybersecurity lawsuit after a Manhattan federal judge dismissed the majority of claims over a 2020 data breach, the parties said Monday.
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August 12, 2024
Protest Tossed After Navy Cancels $12M Software Deal
A Court of Federal Claims judge has dismissed a technology company's protest over the U.S. Navy's alleged violation of a federal preference for commercial products when it issued a sole-source software contract, finding cancellation of the deal made the dispute effectively moot.
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August 12, 2024
2nd Circ. Nixes 'Excessive' $5M Award For Housing Nonprofit
The Second Circuit on Monday overturned a $5 million award to a nonprofit that faced pushback from a Connecticut town while trying to open a group home for individuals with disabilities, finding that it was unconstitutionally excessive, but at the same time castigated the municipality's officials for "highly reprehensible" conduct.
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August 12, 2024
Rising Star: Blank Rome's Robyn N. Burrows
Blank Rome LLP's Robyn Burrows helped undo a U.S. Government Accountability Office ruling on a personnel dispute that cost KPMG a contract and convinced the U.S. Department of Energy to allow millions of dollars of costs for a Hanford Site contractor, earning her a spot among the government contracts law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 09, 2024
DoD Engineer Arrested For Taking Home 'Top Secret' Docs
A U.S. Department of Defense civilian employee accused of taking thousands of pages from his workplace was arrested early Friday morning, according to an affidavit that also reveals he was en route to Mexico for a fishing trip and that "stacks of papers" with top secret documents were found in his Virgnia home.
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August 09, 2024
Feds Say Smartmatic Execs Bribed Philippine Elections Head
Federal prosecutors have accused three Smartmatic executives — including the voting-machine company's co-founder and president — of bribing a Philippines elections official to secure contracts for the country's 2016 elections, according to an indictment filed Friday in Florida federal court.
Editor's Picks
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The Latest On Escobar's FCA Impact
Federal courts across the country are handing down important rulings interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on False Claims Act liability in Universal Health Services v. Escobar. As the rulings keep pouring in, stay up to speed on Law360’s latest coverage and analysis of Escobar’s impact.
Expert Analysis
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Misplaced Info, Trade-Offs, Proteges
James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions concerning the consequences of providing solicited information in the wrong section of a bid proposal, the limits of agency discretion in technical merit, best-value trade-off evaluations, and the weight of the experience and capabilities of small businesses in mentor-protégé joint venture qualification.
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Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Opinion
Time To Reimagine The Novation Process For Gov't Contracts
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, which recently extended a long-standing request for public comments on its novation procedures, should heed commenters' suggestions by implementing specific changes in its documentation requirements, thereby creating a more streamlined and practical novation process, say attorneys at Covington.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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How Justices' E-Rate Decision May Affect Scope Of FCA
The U.S. Supreme Court’s eventual decision in Wisconsin Bell v. U.S., determining whether reimbursements paid by the E-rate program are "claims" under the False Claims Act, may affect other federal programs that do not require payments to be made by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, says David Colapinto at Kohn Kohn.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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What Cos. Should Note In DOJ's New Whistleblower Pilot
After the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a new whistleblower pilot program last week — continuing its efforts to incentivize individual reporting of misconduct — companies should review the eligibility criteria, update their compliance programs and consider the risks and benefits of making their own self-disclosures, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Motion To Transfer Venue Considerations For FCA Cases
Several recent decisions highlight the importance for practitioners of analyzing as early as possible whether a False Claims Act case warrants a change of venue, and understanding how courts weigh certain factors for defendants versus whistleblowers, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Corey Lipton at DiCello Levitt.
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Series
After Chevron: New Lines Of Attack For FCA Defense Bar
Loper Bright has given defense counsel new avenues to overcome the False Claims Act elements of falsity and scienter, as any FCA claim based upon ambiguous statutory terms can no longer stand solely on agency regulations to establish the statute's meaning, which is itself necessary to satisfy the FCA's basic requirements, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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SolarWinds Ruling Offers Cyber Incident Response Takeaways
The New York federal court's dismissal of all charges related to the 2019 Sunburst cyberattack is a devastating blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity case against SolarWinds, but the well-reasoned opinion provides valuable lessons that may improve companies' defensive posture in the wake of a major cybersecurity incident, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.