Expert Analysis

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Personnel Loss, Conflicts, Timeliness

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Locke Bell at MoFo highlights recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office, addressing an offeror's loss of key personnel, organizational conflicts of interest arising out of reliance on former government employees in preparing a bid, and protest timeliness when no debriefing is required.

• 9th Circ. Ruling Shows Int'l Arbitration Jurisdictional Snags

  

  While the Ninth Circuit sidestepped the thorny and undecided constitutional question of whether a foreign state is a person for the purposes of a due process analysis, its Devas v. Antrix opinion provides important guidance to parties seeking to enforce an arbitration award against a foreign sovereign in the U.S., say attorneys at Wiley.

• Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

  

  The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.

• Opinion

  Congress Needs Better Health Care Fraud Data From DOD

  

  The U.S. Department of Defense does not collect enough data to prevent health care and service contractor fraud and waste, so Congress should enact benchmarks that the DOD must meet when gathering and reporting data, enabling lawmakers to make better-informed decisions about defense appropriations, says Jessica Lehman at Verizon.

• Series

  The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

  

  Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

• A 'Deliberate Indifference' Circ. Split For Prison Medical Cases

  

  Allison Becker and Kendra Stark at Gordon & Rees examine the circuit split over how a patient's incarceration status affects the applicable standard for “deliberate indifference” in correctional medical lawsuits, noting an uptick in cases related to outbreaks and staffing shortages at correctional facilities during the pandemic.

• Contract Disputes Recap: Nonmonetary Claims, Timeliness

  

  Bret Marfut and Stephanie Magnell at Seyfarth look at recent decisions from the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that shed light on the jurisdictional contours of the Contract Disputes Act and provide useful guidance on timely filings and jurisdiction over nonmonetary claims.

• Aviation Watch: Osprey Aircraft May Face Tort Claims

  

  A recent U.S. Marine Corps Command report found that the cause of a 2022 Osprey crash was a problem known to the manufacturer and the military for over 10 years — and the aircraft may now be on its way to a day of reckoning in the tort liability arena, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

• Opinion

  FinCEN Regs Must Recognize Int'l Whistleblower Realities

  

  In drafting regulations to implement an anti-money laundering whistleblower program, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network must follow the mandates laid out in the White House’s global anti-corruption strategy to protect and compensate whistleblowers in extreme danger worldwide, says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

• Opinion

  3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

  

  The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

• Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

  

  As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

• No End In Sight For Pandemic Relief Fraud Enforcement

  

  Congress' recent decision to extend the statute of limitations to 10 years for fraud related to pandemic relief means the era of enforcement actions brought under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act has only just begun, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Strike Force Actions Underscore Foreign Risks For Tech Cos.

  

  As recent prosecutions demonstrate, a multiagency strike force is ramping up enforcement of trade secret theft and export control violations, and companies will need to be proactive in protecting their sensitive technologies from foreign adversaries, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• Questions To Ask Before Drafting Proposals With AI

  

  Before federal contractors adopt AI tools to simplify their proposal writing, they should ask questions about how a given AI tool’s model was developed, and consider the procedures they will need to avoid cookie-cutter submissions and ensure accuracy, privacy and security, among other practical and legal considerations, say attorneys at Wiley.