Government Contracts

October 07, 2025
Northwestern Wants ERISA Health Offering Suit Tossed

Northwestern University asked an Illinois federal judge on Monday to throw out a proposed class action alleging it breached fiduciary duties in offering a higher-cost health plan alongside a cheaper option, arguing the plaintiffs have failed to allege injury because they admit that they received all the benefits to which they were entitled under the more-expensive plan's terms.
October 07, 2025
AGs Rip DOJ Bid To Pause Planned Parenthood Funding Suit

The U.S. Department of Justice wants to use the ongoing government shutdown as a "shield" to stop a group of states from seeking an injunction against a halt to Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, the states told a Massachusetts federal judge in opposing a possible pause on their lawsuit.
October 07, 2025
Camp Lejeune Litigation Goes On Despite Gov't Shutdown

The consolidated litigation over water contamination at the Camp Lejeune military base will not pause during the federal government shutdown, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, saying that such a halt, for an unknown length, would cause "severe disruptions" in the case and for the "ailing and older" plaintiffs.
October 07, 2025
Approach The Bench: Judge Kaplan On Suit Against The Gov't

U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Elaine Kaplan's docket doesn't always garner attention in the same way trial court cases do, but that may change as the executive branch makes sweeping budget and policy changes that could lend more political significance to monetary claims against the government.
October 07, 2025
FAR Rewrite Could Cut Small Biz From Task Orders

The Trump administration's newly updated Federal Acquisition Regulation aims to support small businesses by retaining a rule that prioritizes them and slashing administrative barriers, but it could also reduce their chances of landing task orders and sole-source awards.
October 07, 2025
Baker Donelson Forms Gov't Solutions, Public Funding Group

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC announced Tuesday that it has launched a government solutions and public funding group to help clients prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters — while identifying and securing public funding opportunities at the federal, state and local levels.
October 07, 2025
11th Circ. Won't Halt Labor Mandate Case For Gov't Shutdown

The federal government can't stay a builders association's case challenging an executive order that requires union-favoring labor agreements for expensive government contracts, the Eleventh Circuit ruled, declining a request made in light of the government shutdown.
October 06, 2025
Ex-USAID Contractors Call Trump Cuts Political Retaliation

Former contractors employed by the U.S. Agency for International Development claim their contracts were unlawfully terminated en masse because the Trump administration believed their work functioned as "indirect financial support for the Democratic Party," according to a lawsuit filed in the Court of Federal Claims.
October 06, 2025
Fed. Circ. Weighs NASA Contractor's IP Infringement Immunity

The Federal Circuit questioned whether litigation brought by two California men alleging a NASA contractor infringed their patent should play out in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, during oral arguments held in Boston on Monday.
October 06, 2025
Boeing Aims To Trim Damages In Trade Secrets Case

Facing a trade secrets misappropriation claim revived by the Eleventh Circuit, The Boeing Co. told an Alabama federal judge that a defunct company isn't entitled to unjust enrichment damages for a temporary contract the U.S. Air Force awarded two decades ago or a jury trial.
October 06, 2025
Unions Ask Court To Save Fed. Workers' Jobs Amid Shutdown

A California federal judge should block the Trump administration from carrying out its threats to use the government shutdown as an occasion to fire another large swath of federal workers, two unions argued, requesting a temporary restraining order that would protect the jobs of the federal workers they represent.
October 06, 2025
Atty Sanctioned For 'Reckless' AI Use In DC FCA Case

An attorney who admitted to relying on generative artificial intelligence to help craft a brief that contained errors in all of its nine citations, was ordered to pay fee sanctions in a judge's order that emphasized attorneys should stick to the fundamentals taught in law school: "check your legal citations for accuracy."
October 03, 2025
Up First At High Court: Election Laws & Conversion Therapy

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in six cases during the first week of its October 2025 term, including in disputes over federal candidates' ability to challenge state election laws, Colorado's ban on conversion therapy, and the ability of a landlord to sue the U.S. Postal Service for allegedly refusing to deliver mail.
October 03, 2025
4 Top Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Term

After a busy summer of emergency rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court will kick off its October 2025 term Monday with only a few big-ticket cases on its docket — over presidential authorities, transgender athletes and election law — in what might be a strategically slow start to a potentially momentous term. Here, Law360 looks at four of the most important cases on the court's docket so far.
October 03, 2025
Ga. Panel Orders Retrial Over $1.5M Land Seizure Verdict

The Georgia Court of Appeals has granted the state Department of Transportation's bid for a new trial after it was hit with a $1.5 million verdict over land it condemned from a family farm, ruling that a state court jury relied on impermissible speculation about the property's potential value.
October 03, 2025
Zynex Investors Seek To Merge, Stay Insider Trading Suits

Zynex shareholders who accused company executives of inflating stock prices to cash out on shares asked a Colorado federal judge on Friday to consolidate and temporarily pause their derivative suits to wait and see how a related proposed securities class action involving significant similar facts and circumstances plays out.
October 03, 2025
Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Silent Witness, Corporate Veil

When its October session launches Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider issues such as the time limits on long-hidden crimes and long-undiscovered construction flaws, along with witnesses who say nothing on the stand and experts who opine on manner of death.
October 03, 2025
DC Circ. Affirms Immunity Denial For Venezuela Oil Co.

A D.C. Circuit panel ruled Petroleos de Venezuela SA must face claims it unlawfully took over an Oklahoma business's rigs and property, backing a district court's decision to deny the state-owned oil company's bid for sovereign immunity.
October 03, 2025
Newman Opposes Fed. Circ.'s Stay Bid Amid Shutdown

The government shutdown is no excuse to halt proceedings in Judge Pauline Newman's case for reinstatement to the Federal Circuit, the judge said in an opposition, noting in a Friday filing that the Federal Circuit was seeking to delay its own litigation while pledging to deny similar motions that come before it.
October 03, 2025
Feds Accuse NC Farmers Of $8.5M 'Straw Producer' Crop Plot

The U.S. government accused a family farm of engaging in a roughly $8.5 million scheme to inflate crop insurance payouts, alleging in North Carolina federal court that its owner used family members as "straw producers" who had "no legitimate insurable interest in the crops insured."
October 03, 2025
The Roberts Court At 20: How The Chief Is Reshaping America

Twenty years after John Roberts became the 17th chief justice of the United States, he faces a U.S. Supreme Court term that's looking transformative for the country and its institutions. How Justice Roberts and his colleagues navigate mounting distrust in the judiciary and set the boundaries of presidential authority appear increasingly likely to define his time leading the court.
October 03, 2025
Stay In Camp Lejeune Case Would Harm Claimants, Court Told

Pressing pause on Camp Lejeune water litigation after the federal government shutdown is unduly detrimental to the thousands of people waiting for a remedy from exposure to contaminated water, a North Carolina federal court was told Friday.
October 03, 2025
NC Couple Say State Bungled Replacement Home Project

A married North Carolina couple have hit the state government and a general contractor with a Fair Housing Act and an Americans with Disabilities Act suit, alleging in North Carolina federal court that the defendants' replacement for their hurricane-damaged home is inaccessible for wheelchair use.
October 03, 2025
Mich. Defends Refugee Service Contract Choices In Bias Suit

Two Michigan departments told a federal judge that a court order requiring the state to preserve a Christian nonprofit's refugee aid contracts while it pursues a religious liberty lawsuit against them would be both inappropriate and pointless.
October 02, 2025
DHS Blocked From Pulling $233M In Funds From States

A Rhode Island federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from reallocating $233 million in federal funds away from a coalition of Democratic-led states, the same day an appropriation for the funds was set to expire.

Expert Analysis

Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Time Management

Law students typically have weeks or months to prepare for any given deadline, but the unpredictability of practicing in the real world means that lawyers must become time-management pros, ready to adapt to scheduling conflicts and unexpected assignments at any given moment, says David Thomas at Honigman.
Bid Protest Spotlight: Grounds, Clarifications, Amendments

Three recent decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office offer helpful reminders about matching protest grounds to the regulatory provisions under which a solicitation was issued, how the GAO will distinguish between agency clarifications and discussions, and when an agency is obligated to amend a request for proposals, says Brian Doll at MoFo.
How Hyperlinks Are Changing E-Discovery Responsibilities

A recent e-discovery dispute over hyperlinked data in Hubbard v. Crow shows how courts have increasingly broadened the definition of control to account for cloud-based evidence, and why organizations must rethink preservation practices to avoid spoliation risks, says Bree Murphy at Exterro.
State False Claims Acts Can Help Curb Opioid Fund Fraud

State versions of the federal False Claims Act can play an important role in policing the misuse of opioid settlement funds, taking a cue from the U.S. Department of Justice’s handling of federal fraud cases involving pandemic relief funds, says Kenneth Levine at Stone & Magnanini.
Series

Writing Musicals Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experiences with writing musicals and practicing law have shown that the building blocks for both endeavors are one and the same, because drama is necessary for the law to exist, says Addison O’Donnell at LOIS Law.
Series

Adapting To Private Practice: From Va. AUSA To Mid-Law

Returning to the firm where I began my career after seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia has been complex, nuanced and rewarding, and I’ve learned that the pursuit of justice remains the constant, even as the mindset and client change, says Kristin Johnson at Woods Rogers.
7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.
Deference Ruling Could Close The FAR Loophole

A recent U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision may close a loophole in the Federal Acquisition Regulation that allows agencies to circumvent the Trade Agreements Act, significantly affecting federal pharmaceutical procurements and increasing protests related to certain Buy American Act waivers, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
How Trump's Space Order May Ease Industry's Growth

President Donald Trump's recent executive order aimed at removing environmental hurdles for spaceport authorization and streamlining the space industry's regulatory framework may open opportunities not only for established launch providers, but also smaller companies and spaceport authorities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.
Health Insurance Kickback Cases Signal Greater Gov't Focus

A series of recent indictments by federal prosecutors in California suggests that the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act is gaining momentum as an enforcement tool against illegal inducement of patient referrals in the realm of commercial health insurance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
Series

Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.
Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.
DOJ's Novel Cybersecurity FCA Case Is A Warning To Medtech

The U.S. Department of Justice's recent False Claims Act settlement with Illumina over alleged cybersecurity deficiencies suggests that enforcement agencies and whistleblowers are focusing attention toward cybersecurity in life sciences and medical tech, but also reveals key unanswered questions about the legal viability of such allegations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.