Government Contracts

  • April 22, 2024

    Feds Botched Building Contract Prices, Watchdog Reports

    Federal building overseers in the Southeast U.S. used distorted pricing for medium-term construction contracts that produced significantly inflated and unreasonably low-cost estimates, according to a government watchdog.

  • April 22, 2024

    Court Tosses Shipbuilders No-Poach Case As Untimely

    A Virginia federal court found that a pair of warship designers haven't shown that major shipbuilders for the U.S. military, including General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries, concealed a "gentlemen's agreement" to not poach workers from one another.

  • April 22, 2024

    Hedge Funder's IRS Suit Over Leaked Tax Info Gets Trimmed

    A Florida federal judge on Monday dismissed part of a hedge fund executive's case seeking to hold the Internal Revenue Service accountable for a leak of his private tax data to the media, saying he failed to show he suffered any damages.

  • April 22, 2024

    New Atlanta-Area City Beats Constitutional Challenge

    A Georgia state court judge Friday tossed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of a newly incorporated city in suburban Atlanta, ruling that a provision of the cityhood referendum allowing it to create a special tax district wasn't a violation of the state constitution.

  • April 22, 2024

    Palo Alto Networks Execs Face Suit Over Misleading Outlook

    Executives and directors of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court alleging they misled investors about the success of its platform consolidation strategy, which was expected to result in lucrative government contracts.

  • April 22, 2024

    DC Judge Backs Feds' Power To Sanction Ex-Afghan Officials

    A D.C. federal judge shaved down a lawsuit challenging U.S. financial and immigration sanctions against two former Afghan lawmakers, stressing that the executive branch has sweeping authority to issue sanctions on individuals it finds to be corrupt.

  • April 22, 2024

    Calif. High Court Says Pretrial Inmates Can't Get Min. Wage

    The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled that pretrial detainees who work while in jail are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime claims under California's labor law, finding the state's penal code permitting such work covers nonconvicted individuals.

  • April 22, 2024

    DOJ Legal Counsel Must Disclose Interagency Rulings: Judge

    Opinions from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel on interagency disputes should be made available for public review, a judge has found, siding with an open government watchdog in a long-running records dispute.

  • April 22, 2024

    SpaceX Fights NLRB's Structure Again Over Agency Suit

    SpaceX mounted another challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board's structure in Texas federal court, telling the judge to stop administrative proceedings over an unfair labor practice complaint alleging the company's severance agreement is unlawful.

  • April 19, 2024

    Ga. Judges Find No 'Magic Wand' For Voting Rights Suits

    In a series of recent trials challenging Georgia’s election laws, federal judges have shown a reluctance to dictate sweeping changes to state voting protocols, preferring to tinker around the edges while leaving broad policymaking up to legislative officials.

  • April 19, 2024

    Kansas City Bank Sued Over Prepaid Cards For Ex-Detainees

    A Kansas City, Missouri, bank faces a proposed class action accusing it of violating federal and state consumer protections laws in issuing prepaid debit cards to people who had their cash confiscated after being detained following an arrest, and then charging them fees to access their funds after their release. 

  • April 19, 2024

    NY Nixes Power Deals With Trio Of Offshore Wind Projects

    New York officials on Friday said they wouldn't offer power contracts to a trio of offshore wind projects, the latest setback for the Empire State in efforts to make offshore wind a key component of its clean energy future.

  • April 19, 2024

    Staffing Co. Can't Escape Bar On Task Order Protests

    A staffing firm can't escape the "gravitational field" of a rule restricting the U.S. Court of Federal Claims' authority to review task orders, a judge has said, ditching its challenge to being disqualified from orders reserved for women-owned small businesses.

  • April 19, 2024

    Defense Firms Say 'Political Question' Dooms Yemeni War Suit

    Three defense contractors warned a D.C. federal court that it would be improperly meddling with the executive branch's national security decisions if it didn't toss a lawsuit accusing the companies of supplying weapons used in Yemen's deadly civil war.

  • April 19, 2024

    Cohen Seglias Suit Says DOD Must Unblock Its Web Domain

    Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC has sued a communications arm of the Department of Defense over claims a government software system mistakenly flagged the firm's web domain as malware, asking the agency to clear a "bureaucratic quagmire" and lift the block keeping DOD officials from contacting its lawyers.

  • April 19, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Cleary, O'Melveny

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Resideo Technologies Inc. announced plans to buy Snap One Holdings Corp., APi Group said it bought an elevator maintenance company, Prysmian said it agreed to purchase Encore Wire, and Sayari said it closed on an investment from TPG.

  • April 18, 2024

    Ga.'s Absentee Rules Trample Political Speech, Court Told

    At the close of a trial challenging provisions of Georgia's controversial 2021 election reform law, counsel for a pair of voter engagement groups told a federal judge Thursday the state's increased restrictions on absentee ballot mailers are counterproductive efforts that continue to infringe upon the First Amendment.

  • April 18, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Maintains Newman Can't Invalidate Disability Law

    Suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has still not proven that the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act has no constitutional uses and should therefore be invalidated, the Federal Circuit's judicial council told a D.C. federal judge Thursday.

  • April 18, 2024

    Claims Court Tosses L3Harris' Protest To $544M Satellite Deal

    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims threw out L3Harris Technologies Inc.'s challenge to a rival's $544 million contract to build part of a weather satellite for NASA, according to a court filing.

  • April 18, 2024

    Alleged Funeral Home Fraudster A Flight Risk, Can't Leave Jail

    A Colorado federal judge on Thursday ordered an owner of a funeral home where hundreds of bodies were allegedly left to decompose to stay in custody while he awaits related fraud charges, ruling that the potential for a hefty sentence made him a flight risk.

  • April 18, 2024

    Defense Paints Friend As Snitch In Ex-Ecuador Official's Trial

    The defense attorney for former Ecuador comptroller Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni painted a reinsurer who testified Wednesday against the official as a snitch and turncoat during a federal money laundering trial in Miami, saying he effectively became a government agent to get information that could be used against his friend.

  • April 18, 2024

    Army Didn't Award $693M Deal To Avoid Litigation, GAO Says

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office shot down an Alabama engineering research firm's protest of a $692.9 million U.S. Army contract for test support services, rejecting the firm's contention that the Army awarded the deal to a competitor to avoid litigation.

  • April 18, 2024

    Clinic Head Gets 9 Years For Medicare Kickback, Tax Scheme

    A health clinic manager was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $40 million in restitution to the government for participating in a multimillion-dollar healthcare kickback scheme that involved tax fraud, according to documents in a New York federal court.

  • April 18, 2024

    GAO Rejects Another Protest Over $1B Medicare IT Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected another protest over an up to $1 billion Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services information technology deal, saying the agency fairly assessed Spatial Front Inc.'s proposal and didn't treat the company unequally.

  • April 18, 2024

    Feds Say Ga. On The Hook For Segregated Learning Programs

    Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday urged a federal court to advance to trial a nearly 8-year-old lawsuit that accused the state of Georgia of running a "separate and unequal" program that segregates thousands of students with disabilities into substandard learning conditions.

Expert Analysis

  • Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

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    X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

  • Self-Disclosure Lessons From Exemplary Corp. Resolutions

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    With scant examples of corporate resolutions in the wake of U.S. Department of Justice self-disclosure policy changes last fall, companies may glean helpful insights from three recent declination letters, as well as other governmental self-reporting regimes, say Lindsey Collins and Kate Rumsey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • 8 Ways Life Sciences Cos. Can Adapt To The Social Media Era

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    As pharmaceutical and medical device companies harness the powerful promotion potential of social media, they must navigate legal, regulatory and reputational risks that can be particularly challenging due to the complex framework of rules that apply to the life sciences industry, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Unfair Advantage, Buy American Waiver

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, James Tucker at MoFo offers takeaways on one decision that considers unfair proposal development advantages in the context of an employee's access to nonpublic information in a prior federal government position, and another decision that reconsiders a contract award based on an inadequately supported waiver of Buy American Act restrictions.

  • Prevailing Wage Rules Complicate Inflation Act Tax Incentives

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    Nicole Elliott and Timothy Taylor at Holland & Knight discuss the intersection between tax and labor newly created by the Inflation Reduction Act, and focus on aspects of recent U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of the Treasury rules that may catch tax-incentive seekers off guard.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

  • Industry Takeaways From OMB's Final Buy America Guidance

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    The Office of Management and Budget's recently released guidance on "Buy America" requirements for federal infrastructure projects provides clarity in certain areas but fails to address troublesome inconsistencies with state laws and international trade agreements, so manufacturers and suppliers will need to tread carefully as agencies implement the changes, say Amy Hoang and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • HHS Neuromonitoring Advisory May Have Broad Relevance

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    The Health Department Office of Inspector General's recent advisory opinion rejecting a neuromonitoring service's proposal for a shell arrangement isn't surprising, but it could be a harbinger of more warnings against problematic joint venture arrangements to come, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Senate's DOD Data Rights Plan

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    The Senate's latest defense spending bill stands to benefit big business by clarifying that the government should not automatically obtain unlimited rights in certain contractor data, but the reduction of other protections elsewhere may put small businesses at risk, say Tyler Evans and Anna Menzel at Steptoe & Johnson.

  • A Look At The Tribal Health Reimbursements Circuit Split

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    A circuit split regarding whether Native American tribes are entitled to contract support costs on health care services paid by third-party revenues sets the stage for potential review by the U.S. Supreme Court, and could result in the Indian Health Service paying hundreds of millions more in much-needed funding to tribal health programs, say Geoffrey Strommer and Steve Osborne at Hobbs Straus.

  • SBA 8(a) Contractors Must Prepare To Reestablish Eligibility

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Ultima Services v. U.S. Department of Agriculture has massive implications for the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development Program, whose participants will soon need to reestablish their status as socially disadvantaged, say Edward DeLisle and Andrés Vera at Thompson Hine.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • What Circuit Split May Mean For FCA Kickback Liability

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    The recent circuit split on the meaning of the resulting-from provision in False Claims Act kickback cases could have significant ramifications for FCA liability, as it could affect the standard of causation that plaintiffs must meet to establish liability, say former federal prosecutors Li Yu, Ellen London and Gregg Shapiro.

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