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Government Contracts
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May 20, 2024
SolarWinds Accuses SEC Of 'Troubling Pattern' Of Distortion
SolarWinds Corp. is calling out the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for what it deems to be a "troubling pattern" of overstating its case against the government contractor, saying that a recent admission by the agency "dooms" claims that the company knew a customer had been hacked and failed to report it.
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May 20, 2024
DOJ Says Google Ad Tech Case About Coercion, Not Dealing
The U.S. Department of Justice urged a Virginia federal judge Friday to preserve its case accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology, arguing the search giant is misconstruing a case that is really about forcing customers to use its ad exchanges, not about who the company does business with.
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May 20, 2024
Fed. Circ. Says Co. Wrongly DQ'd From USPS Screening Deal
The Federal Circuit has revived a company's potential eligibility for U.S. Postal Service canine mail screening contracts, ruling the USPS reasonably found the company had mitigated conflicts of interest related to its prior work for the service.
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May 20, 2024
6th Circ. Won't Revive Challenge To $39B Student Debt Relief
A pair of libertarian think tanks cannot revive their lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's plan to wipe out $39 billion in student loan debt, the Sixth Circuit ruled Friday, saying the groups haven't shown the government's plan puts them at a disadvantage to recruit indebted lawyers and other employees.
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May 20, 2024
DOL, Fringe Benefit Co. Strike Deal In Funds Management Suit
A fringe benefits company and two of its executives have agreed to pay over $4 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging they mismanaged funds meant for government contractor employees' benefits, the federal government told a Maryland federal court.
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May 20, 2024
Mich. Town Can't Block $2B Battery Plant, Judge Rules
A Michigan federal judge has ordered that Green Charter Township can't prevent Gotion Inc.'s upcoming battery components plant, in which the company plans on investing more than $2 billion, from moving forward.
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May 20, 2024
Nonprofits Renew Bid To Enter Red States' Border Wall Suit
Two nonprofits urged a Texas federal court to add them to a challenge to the Biden administration's plans to use border wall appropriations for remediation projects, saying they were shocked by the administration's acceptance of an order suspending the plan.
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May 20, 2024
Latham Hires 2 Skadden Healthcare Partners In DC
Latham & Watkins LLP has picked up two healthcare and life sciences partners from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Ex-Conn. Town Atty Sues Over 'False' Ethics Complaint
Former Newington, Connecticut, town attorney Benjamin Ancona Jr. and other former officials took the Hartford-area suburb to state court claiming the town's assessor and others defamed them in and regarding a now-dismissed ethics complaint that was purportedly loaded with false statements.
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May 20, 2024
China Sanctions 3 US Firms For Arms Sales To Taiwan
The Chinese Government has sanctioned units of Boeing, General Atomics and General Dynamics over the companies' sales of weapons to Taiwan, barring the companies from trade or investment in China, citing alleged threats to its sovereignty.
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May 20, 2024
6th Circ. Orders Sanctioned Prison Co. To Pay NLRB Atty Fees
The Sixth Circuit said a Federal Bureau of Prisons contractor has to pay the U.S. National Labor Relations Board's attorney fees from arguing the contractor should be held in contempt in a dispute over two fired union supporters, with one judge dissenting in part over 0.4 billable hour.
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May 20, 2024
Assange Gets Final Appeal In Fight Against US Extradition
Julian Assange won a lifeline in his long-running fight against extradition to the U.S. on Monday as an English court granted him permission to challenge assurances from American authorities that the WikiLeaks founder would not face discrimination at trial.
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May 17, 2024
VA Deal Winner Says Protest Not Based On Common Sense
The winner of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs mail-order pharmacy deal urged the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to toss a competitor's protest of the award, saying the protester's challenge was based on an incorrect reading of applicable regulations.
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May 17, 2024
Allergan Says Deserted Drug Rule Weakens $680M Fraud Suit
Allergan drew a Maryland federal court's attention to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' abandonment of a regulation clarifying drug pricing, arguing the move undermined a whistleblower's claims that it overcharged Medicaid by over $680 million.
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May 17, 2024
Defense Cos. Delaying Delivery Of F-35 Parts, Watchdog Says
A government watchdog has called out production and software delays within the U.S. Department of Defense's F-35 program, saying contractors Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney are delivering aircraft and engines late despite the fighter jet moving into full production status.
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May 17, 2024
DC Circ. Affirms Ex-HUD Official's Conviction For False Docs
The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld the documents falsification conviction of a former high-ranking staffer within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of the Inspector General, rejecting his arguments that prosecutors had diverged at trial from the charges laid out in an indictment.
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May 17, 2024
FCA Relators Seek Finders Fee For SpineFrontier Doc Deals
Three whistleblowers who tipped off the federal government to a medical device company's multimillion-dollar kickback scheme said Friday the Justice Department is refusing to pay them a cut of the $3 million in False Claims Act settlements paid by surgeons who admitted participating in the sham consulting ploy.
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May 17, 2024
Google Says Payment Means No Need For DOJ Ad Tech Jury
Google is arguing in Virginia federal court the government has no right to a jury trial in a case accusing the company of monopolizing key digital advertising technology, especially after Google issued a check for the money enforcers could be awarded if they won.
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May 17, 2024
Mass. Hospital Pays $24.3M To Settle Heart-Surgery FCA Case
Cape Cod Hospital will pay $24.3 million to settle claims it flouted Medicare billing rules for hundreds of heart-valve replacement surgeries in what's understood to be the largest recovery under the False Claims Act from a Massachusetts hospital.
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May 16, 2024
No Double Jeopardy In Philly Execs' Embezzlement Case
Two former Philadelphia nonprofit executives convicted for an embezzlement scheme weren't subject to double jeopardy when a judge rescheduled trial after several jurors left, the Third Circuit ruled Thursday, reasoning that the court had no other choice.
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May 16, 2024
Ointment Scheme Conned Gov't Out Of Millions, Fla. Suit Says
Two Florida brothers and one of their former employees are accused of running a years-long fraudulent scheme billing government healthcare programs and receiving millions of dollars after paying kickbacks to generate prescriptions for ointments that were not needed, according to a False Claims Act lawsuit.
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May 16, 2024
Claims Court Revives $71.1M Deal That GAO Misinterpreted
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ordered the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to reinstate a $71.1 million support deal, finding that the agency terminated the deal based on a federal watchdog's incorrect interpretation of the contract.
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May 16, 2024
Prosecutors Say Fake Fortune 500 Workers Funded N. Korea
The Biden administration alleged that North Korea may have raised $6.8 million to develop nuclear weapons by installing remote information technology workers at Fortune 500 businesses, announcing charges Thursday against two individuals accused of helping agents pose as U.S. employees.
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May 16, 2024
La. River Project Would Damage Swamp, Green Groups Say
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-approved project meant to increase river flow through an important Louisiana basin will ruin the area with fertilizer and sediment, environmental groups said in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday.
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May 16, 2024
US Must Produce Emails Between IRS Managers, Docs Leaker
The government must produce emails between Internal Revenue Service managers and a former contractor who leaked thousands of wealthy people's tax returns, a Florida federal judge has ordered, saying the materials are relevant to a billionaire's case accusing the agency of responsibility for the leak.
Expert Analysis
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How Biden's AI Order Stacks Up Against Calif. And G7 Activity
Evaluating the federal AI executive order alongside the California AI executive order and the G7's Hiroshima AI Code of Conduct can offer a more robust picture of key risks and concerns companies should proactively work to mitigate as they build or integrate artificial intelligence tools into their products and services, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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A Closer Look At Proposed HHS Research Misconduct Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposed updates to its policies on research misconduct codify many well-known best practices, but also contain some potential surprises for the research community and counsel, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Suspension And Debarment: FY 2023 By The Numbers
A comparative analysis of System for Award Management data, culminating with fiscal year 2023, reveals a year-over-year drop in annual suspension and debarment numbers so significant as to leave the government contracting community trying to figure out what is happening, says David Robbins at Jenner & Block.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Contracts Disputes Recap: Expect Strict Application Of Rules
Zachary Jacobson and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine four recent cases highlighting the importance, for both contractors and government agencies, of strict compliance with the Contract Disputes Act’s jurisdictional requirements and with the Federal Acquisition Regulation's remedy-granting clauses.
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Unpacking The FAR Council's Cybersecurity Rules Proposal
New reporting and information sharing requirements in the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed cybersecurity regulations would create new False Claims Act enforceability risks, and could be a focus for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative, say Townsend Bourne and Lillia Damalouji at Sheppard Mullin.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Deference Limit, Close-At-Hand Doctrine
In this month's bid protest roundup, Roke Iko at MoFo examines a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims about the parameters of agency deference, and one from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that highlights the risk to offerors of relying heavily on evaluators’ prior knowledge.
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New DOJ Roles Underscore National Security Focus
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent creation of two new leadership positions signals to the private sector that federal law enforcement is pouring resources into corporate investigations to identify potential national security violations, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Opinion
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
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Lessons From Verizon's Cybersecurity FCA Self-Disclosure
A Verizon unit’s recent agreement to settle allegations of cyber-related False Claims Act violations illustrates the interplay between the government's prioritization of cybersecurity enforcement and the potential benefits of voluntarily disclosing cybersecurity failures, says Denise Barnes at Honigman.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.