Government Contracts

  • April 24, 2024

    Biden Admin Closes $362M Loan To Texas EV-Wiring Maker

    The Biden administration has finalized a $362 million loan to help pay for a Texas automotive-wiring component plant, a move intended to boost the U.S. domestic supply chain for electric vehicles.

  • April 24, 2024

    4th Circ. Revives Worker's Age Bias Suit Against IT Co.

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday reinstated a former information technology company worker's lawsuit alleging she was unlawfully fired and replaced by someone nearly 30 years her junior, saying a trial court held her to too high a standard when it threw out her case.

  • April 24, 2024

    EPA Floats $1B In School Bus, Truck Electrification Grants

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said it would offer approximately $1 billion in grants to fund the electrification of school buses, garbage trucks and other heavy-duty commercial vehicles, another part of the Biden administration's efforts to decarbonize the U.S. transportation sector.

  • April 23, 2024

    Globetrotters Say SBA's 'Bureaucratic Hell' Cost COVID Grant

    The Harlem Globetrotters on Monday renewed their yearslong fight with the U.S. Small Business Administration over a $10 million COVID-19 relief grant, filing a new suit in D.C. federal court accusing the SBA of leaving the team in "bureaucratic hell" rather than forking over the money it's entitled to.

  • April 23, 2024

    Tracking Tech Maker Calls USPS' $282M Deal Redo Irrational

    A software company pressed the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to again order the U.S. Postal Service to redo a $281.8 million vehicle tracking deal, saying the agency's course correct ignored that one-third of the agreement had been completed.

  • April 23, 2024

    Security Concerns May Hamper AUKUS Partnership

    The U.S. Department of State is facing pressure from Congress to ease export controls to support the fledgling AUKUS defense partnership, but concerns over Australia and the U.K.'s readiness to protect U.S. weapons technology may be causing it to stall.

  • April 23, 2024

    Sharper Sustainability Rule May Strengthen Bid Protests

    A new regulation for more environmentally friendly government purchases puts teeth into a long-standing requirement for sustainable procurement, and is likely to strengthen businesses' arguments in bid protests as agencies wrestle with the full scope of the rule.

  • April 23, 2024

    Biz Owner Faces Second Jury Over Alleged VA Kickback Plot

    An Illinois business owner faced his second federal jury Tuesday as prosecutors asserted he should be convicted of wire fraud for paying kickbacks to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clerk in exchange for medical equipment business that included "bogus" rental fees.

  • April 23, 2024

    Judge Allows $956M Atty Fees In 3M, DuPont PFAS Settlements

    A South Carolina federal judge on Tuesday signed off on attorney fees totaling more than $956 million in settlements with 3M and DuPont over so-called forever chemicals in firefighting foam that contaminated drinking water, saying that another group of lawyers may not have been able to reach the same outcome.

  • April 23, 2024

    Nuclear Plant Contractor Inks $18.4M Deal To End FCA Claims

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC will pay $18.4 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims for time not worked at a nuclear weapons plant.

  • April 23, 2024

    Juvenile Facility Abuse Suits Will Move To State Court

    A trio of plaintiffs who were denied class certification for their civil rights claims against Abraxas Youth and Family Services have agreed to withdraw their federal suit against the juvenile facility operator with an eye toward refiling their remaining claims in state court.

  • April 23, 2024

    $45B DOE Deal Backed By Common Sense, Contractor Says

    A U.S. Department of Energy contractor urged the Federal Circuit to restore a $45 billion deal it won, saying the department was allowed to award the deal despite the contractor not being continuously registered in a federal award management database.

  • April 23, 2024

    3 More Charged In Iranian Hacks Of Treasury, State Depts.

    New York federal prosecutors have charged three more Iranian men for their alleged roles in a hacking campaign targeting the U.S. departments of Treasury and State as well as companies that held security clearances with the American government.

  • April 23, 2024

    Paul Hastings Transaction Security Adviser Joins V&E

    Vinson & Elkins LLP announced the hire Monday of a Paul Hastings LLP attorney with experience advising on national security laws related to foreign investment as a partner in Washington, D.C.

  • April 23, 2024

    Jury Finds Ex-Ecuadorian Official Guilty Of Money Laundering

    A Florida federal jury on Tuesday found the former comptroller of Ecuador guilty on all counts charged against him by the government, which accused him of taking millions of dollars in bribes and directing his son, a banker in Miami, to launder the money.

  • April 22, 2024

    Judge Finds Feds Own Historic Virgin Islands Resort

    A U.S. Virgin Islands federal judge has found the government owns the title to the historic Caneel Bay resort on a St. John peninsula, ruling against an operator in a dispute that arose after the resort suffered damage from back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes in 2017.

  • April 22, 2024

    Jury Hears Of Torture As Abu Ghraib Contractor Trial Wraps

    After six days of trial and three hours of deliberation, the jury for a suit accusing military contractor CACI International of conspiring to commit torture at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq recessed without a verdict Monday.

  • April 22, 2024

    Miami Seaquarium Operator Fights Eviction Bid In $35M Suit

    The operator of the Miami Seaquarium is fighting an alleged attempt by Miami-Dade County to unlawfully terminate its lease, saying in a federal lawsuit it will lose $35 million from a possible eviction that occurred after the company's CEO criticized county officials in an email over the facility's condition.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • SolarWinds Ushers In New Era Of SEC Cyber Enforcement

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against software company SolarWinds Corp. and its chief information security officer is the first time the SEC has ever filed suit over scienter-based fraud involving cybersecurity failures, illustrating that both companies and CISOs need to be extra cautious in how they describe their cybersecurity practices, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Instructions, Jurisdiction, Scrutiny

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Michaela Thornton at MoFo examines three recent protests resolved in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that arose from indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract awards and offer important reminders about the fundamentals of procurement law.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • A Look At Successful Bid Protests In FY 2023

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    Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin look beyond the statistics in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s recent annual report on bid protests, sharing their insights about nine categories of sustained protests, gained from reading every fiscal year 2023 decision in which the protester had a positive result.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • AI Use May Trigger False Claims Act's Public Disclosure Bar

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    The likely use of publicly available artificial intelligence tools to detect government fraud by combing through large data sets will raise complex questions about a False Claims Act provision that prohibits the filing of claims based on previously disclosed information, say Nick Peterson and Spencer Brooks at Wiley Rein.

  • Biden Climate Push Expands With Contractor GHG Focus

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    President Joe Biden's recent announcement that federal agencies will consider contractors' greenhouse gas emissions when making procurement decisions demonstrates his administration's continued interest in using government contracting as a vehicle for reducing climate-related impacts — a theme first established in the early months of his term, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Unpacking GAO's FY 2023 Bid Protest Report

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    The U.S. Government Accountability Office's recent bid protest report reflects an increase in sustained protests, illustrating that disappointed offerors may see little reason to refrain from seeking corrective action — but there is more to the story, say Aron Beezley and Patrick Quigley at Bradley Arant.

  • How Biden's AI Order Stacks Up Against Calif. And G7 Activity

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    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.

  • A Closer Look At Proposed HHS Research Misconduct Rule

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    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.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    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.

  • Suspension And Debarment: FY 2023 By The Numbers

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    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.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    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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