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Government Contracts
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April 22, 2024
Texas, Mo. Seek Full Vacatur Of DHS Border Wall Plan
Texas and Missouri on Monday urged a Texas federal court to fully vacate the Biden administration's plans to redirect border wall construction funds, saying the plan adopted an overarching policy the court had declared was unlawful.
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April 22, 2024
Watchdog Nixes Unfair Treatment Claims In $310M VA IT Deal
The U.S. Government Accountability Office was unconvinced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affair graded an IT firm's bid for a $310.3 million deal more harshly than a competitor's, saying the rankings reflected differences in the bids.
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April 22, 2024
NJ Town Can't Beat Sanctions Over Legal Malpractice Suit
A New Jersey state appeals panel upheld Monday, in a published opinion, sanctions against the borough of Englewood Cliffs for bringing a now-dismissed legal malpractice suit after a purportedly unfavorable affordable housing settlement.
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April 22, 2024
Jury Begins Deliberating In Ex-Ecuador Official's Bribery Trial
Jurors began deliberating Monday afternoon in Florida federal court on the fate of the former comptroller of Ecuador, who prosecutors say took millions of dollars in bribes and directed his son, a banker in Miami, to launder the money.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Unpacking OMB's Proposed Uniform Guidance Rewrite
Affected organizations, including state and local governments, should carefully review the Office of Management and Budget's proposed overhaul of uniform rules for administering over $1 trillion in federal funding distributed each year, and take the opportunity to submit comments before the December deadline, says Dismas Locaria at Venable.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.