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Government Contracts
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October 03, 2024
Energy Dept. Awards $1.5B For 4 Power Line Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday handed out $1.5 billion in Congressional funding for a quartet of long-distance transmission projects, as well as a study that calls for a massive expansion of the U.S. electric grid over the next 25 years.
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October 02, 2024
Lab Co. Settles Bogus Testing Claims With Feds For $27M
Precision Diagnostics Toxicology Lab, one of the nation's largest drug testing laboratories, has agreed to pay $27 million to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare and other federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary tests, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
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October 02, 2024
Gov't Tells Justices That E-Rate Program Is Covered By FCA
The federal government is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that E-Rate reimbursement fraud is covered by the False Claims Act because the government provides the program's funding.
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October 02, 2024
Fla. Court Says Superintendent Must Face Perjury Charge
A Florida appeals court Wednesday reinstated an indictment accusing a school superintendent of lying to a statewide grand jury convened in response to the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
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October 02, 2024
Madigan Can't Duck Bribery Claims After High Court Ruling
An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss bribery charges against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling limiting the reach of a bribery statute that once criminalized gratuities, while also refusing to sever his case from his co-defendant's.
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October 02, 2024
Quinn Emanuel Can't Ignore Past Oro Negro Ties, Oil Co. Says
Oro Negro Drilling Pte. Ltd. said former counsel Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP must produce confidential information in a discovery bid to disqualify its attorneys in Mexican proceedings.
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October 02, 2024
Tenn. Atty Sues Federal Court, Judges Over Gag Order Rule
A rule of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee barring attorneys from making "any extrajudicial statements" about cases pending in the district violates the First Amendment and should be blocked, according to a Nashville civil rights lawyer.
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October 02, 2024
Bid-Rig Charges Irrelevant To $26M Base Award, GAO Says
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has shot down a contractor's protest over a rival company being awarded a $26 million Army hospital maintenance contract, finding that the awardee's conviction for bid-rigging in Korea had no bearing on its track record of successful operations.
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October 01, 2024
Bribe-Laundering Gets Ecuador Ex-Official 10 Years In Prison
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Ecuador's former comptroller to 10 years in prison after a jury earlier this year convicted him on multiple counts related to laundering millions of dollars in bribe money he received in exchange for eliminating fines connected to a defective hydroelectric dam and other projects.
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October 01, 2024
Data Brokers Decry 'Ill-Tailored' NJ Judicial Privacy Law
Data brokers such as Equifax, Thomson Reuters and Zillow urged a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday to toss a suit accusing them of violating Daniel's Law, arguing the state's judicial privacy measure is unconstitutionally broad and unevenly applied.
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October 01, 2024
Novel FCA Decision Amplifies Voices Of Whistleblower Critics
A Florida federal judge's characterization of whistleblowers as self-appointed "special prosecutors" when they file lawsuits on the federal government's behalf amplifies the voices of critics questioning the constitutionality of a key enforcement tool for fighting fraud, while threatening to create a circuit split.
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October 01, 2024
Water Firm Can't End Flint Children's Negligence Claims
The federal judge presiding over Flint, Michigan, water crisis litigation again ruled on Tuesday that an engineering firm won't be able to avoid professional negligence claims related to its consulting work with the city, issuing the 70-page opinion days before jury selection for a bellwether trial begins.
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October 01, 2024
Military Contractor's Widow Can Continue Death Benefit Suit
A widow's pursuit of $670,000 in benefits following her husband's death in Afghanistan while training the country's police force can continue, an Illinois federal judge ruled, trimming claims against the man's employers and benefits administrators but leaving her breach of contract claim against an insurer intact.
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October 01, 2024
Steward Can't Be Forced To Reassign Contract In Ch. 11
While a government contractor was within its rights to end a subcontracting agreement with embattled hospital group Steward Health, the Bankruptcy Code's provisions for assignment of contracts mean the debtor can't be compelled to reassign the agreement while in Chapter 11, a Texas bankruptcy judge said Tuesday.
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October 01, 2024
Big Banks Urge Panel To Toss NJ Bond Marketing Claims
A New Jersey state judge erred when he applied a recent change in state law to deny a bid by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other big banks to toss a suit accusing them of a scheme to inflate the interest rates of certain bonds, the banks argued Tuesday before a state appellate panel.
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October 01, 2024
Mass. Hospital To Pay Up To $6.5M In Sober Home Scheme
A Massachusetts behavioral health hospital will pay up to $6.5 million to resolve claims it illegally steered Medicare and Medicaid patients to its outpatient substance abuse programs with a promise of free sober home housing, according to a settlement announced Tuesday.
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October 01, 2024
Nostrum Labs Hits Ch. 11 A Year After Medicaid Settlement
Nostrum Laboratories, a New Jersey drugmaker that paid millions to settle allegations that it underpaid Medicaid drug rebates for its bladder infection drug after it hiked the price more than 400%, filed for Chapter 11 protection with nearly $68.3 million in debt.
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October 01, 2024
'Unsworn' Actors Sink Qui Tam Provision, Fla. Judge Rules
A Florida federal judge on Monday ruled that the provision of the False Claims Act allowing whistleblowers to bring suits on behalf of the federal government is unconstitutional, dismissing a closely watched Medicare Advantage fraud case and potentially upending a key federal enforcement tool.
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September 30, 2024
Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action
The year's spookiest month is looking scary-good for appellate aficionados, as famed oral advocates joust in October over net neutrality and Uber's extraordinary bid to unravel multidistrict litigation — just two of the high-profile arguments previewed in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. October also begins with former President Jimmy Carter turning 100, and we'll test your knowledge of his profound impact on the judiciary.
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September 30, 2024
Plane Parts Exec Loses Appeal In Honeywell Fraud Case
The Second Circuit refused Monday to free the president of an airplane parts supplier from a seven-year prison sentence over a $15 million fraud on Honeywell International Inc., rejecting his protest over evidence admitted for consciousness of guilt.
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September 30, 2024
DC Judge Won't Allow Single Trial In Admiral's Bribery Case
A D.C. federal judge Monday denied the government's motion to reconsider a decision severing a retired Navy admiral's bribery trial from that of the defense contractors he is accused of steering federal contracts toward, reiterating a previous ruling that the court can split the case if consolidation appears to prejudice the parties.
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September 30, 2024
DOE Plutonium Pit Plan Found To Violate Environmental Law
A South Carolina federal judge on Monday backed antinuclear groups' challenge to a U.S. Department of Energy plan to boost production of plutonium cores used in nuclear weapons, saying the DOE hadn't properly considered the potential environmental impact of the plan.
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September 30, 2024
Feds Seek Prison In Tax Case Linked To 'China Initiative'
Prosecutors have asked a Texas federal judge for an 18- to 24-month prison sentence for a Chinese-born engineer who pled guilty to tax crimes after being charged with export violations and fraud in a case the defense claims began as an espionage investigation under the U.S. Department of Justice's now-disbanded "China Initiative."
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September 30, 2024
$143M Seattle Tunnel Insurance Suit Settles Midtrial
A Seattle construction contractor that claimed it was wrongly denied more than $143 million in coverage for damage to a massive tunneling machine has settled its case against insurers, the parties told a Washington state judge Monday on the second day of a jury trial.
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September 30, 2024
Red States Urge Justices To Take Up $15 Min. Wage Dispute
Conservative-led states told the U.S. Supreme Court that President Joe Biden's administration misused the Procurement Act when it hiked federal contractors' hourly minimum wage to $15, throwing their support behind two outdoor groups hoping to overturn a Tenth Circuit ruling in favor of the federal government.
Expert Analysis
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How Fund Advisers Can Limit Election Year Pay-To-Play Risks
With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now the Democratic candidate for vice president, politically active investment advisers should take practical steps to avoid triggering strict pay-to-play rules that can lead to fund managers facing mutli-year timeouts from working with public funds after contributing to sitting officials, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles
Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.
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Opinion
Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation
The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.
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5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond
As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.
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Series
Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer
My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.
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How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'
Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.
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Philly Project Case Renews Ongoing Fraud Theory Tug-Of-War
In its upcoming term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kousisis v. U.S., a case involving wire fraud convictions related to Philadelphia bridge repair projects, and may once again further rein in prosecutorial attempts to expand theories of fraud beyond core traditional property rights, say Jonathan Halpern and Kyra Rosenzweig at Holland & Knight.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process
Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.
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Whistleblowers Must Note 5 Key Differences Of DOJ Program
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently unveiled whistleblower awards program diverges in key ways from similar programs at other agencies, and individuals must weigh these differences and look first to programs with stronger, proven protections before blowing the whistle, say Stephen Kohn and Geoff Schweller at Kohn Kohn.
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What NFL Draft Picks Have In Common With Lateral Law Hires
Nearly half of law firm lateral hires leave within a few years — a failure rate that is strikingly similar to the performance of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the first round — in part because evaluators focus too heavily on quantifiable metrics and not enough on a prospect's character traits, says Howard Rosenberg at Baretz+Brunelle.
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Foreign Threat Actors Pose Novel Risks To US Tech Cos.
A recent bulletin jointly issued by several U.S. intelligence agencies warns technology startups and the venture capital community about national security risks posed by foreign threat actors, so companies interested in raising foreign capital should watch for several red flags, say Robert Friedman and Jacob Marco at Holland & Knight.
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Replacing The Stigma Of Menopause With Law Firm Support
A large proportion of the workforce is forced to pull the brakes on their career aspirations because of the taboo surrounding menopause and a lack of consistent support, but law firms can initiate the cultural shift needed by formulating thoughtful workplace policies, says Barbara Hamilton-Bruce at Simmons & Simmons.
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Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where
During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Series
Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.