Government Contracts

  • September 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Says News Article Doesn't Doom Biotronik FCA Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a False Claims Act suit alleging that Biotronik orchestrated an illicit compensation scheme to boost the implantation of its cardiac devices in patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, saying the whistleblower's complaint presents new information that is not barred by fraud allegations disclosed in an earlier news article.

  • September 11, 2025

    Wash. Judge Halts Feds' Head Start Citizenship Check Policy

    A Washington federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on Thursday blocking a Trump administration policy requiring Head Start participants to prove citizenship, finding the federal directive jeopardizes stable learning environments depended on by children and families across the country.

  • September 11, 2025

    Medicare Drug Pricing Plan Survives Novartis' 3rd Circ. Appeal

    The Third Circuit ruled Thursday that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' ability to negotiate "maximum fair prices" with drugmakers doesn't violate their constitutional rights, rejecting an argument by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. that the practice amounted to a raw deal for the pharmaceutical industry.

  • September 11, 2025

    Texas Justices Debate When Eco-Devo Public Purposes End

    Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant Thursday to give JPMorgan Chase Bank NA a green light to continue collecting payments on a $10 million economic development loan for a project that went belly up, asking what public purpose the payments would serve.

  • September 11, 2025

    Expert's AI Hallucinations Blamed On Attys' 'Willful Blindness'

    Utah anesthesiologists facing a False Claims Act fraudulent billing suit doubled down Wednesday on their bid to sanction and disqualify the whistleblower's counsel for not catching an expert witness report with numerous AI-generated fabrications, arguing the errors were so obvious that the failure to catch them constitutes "willful blindness."

  • September 11, 2025

    1st Circ. OKs Freeze Of Planned Parenthood Medicaid Funding

    The First Circuit on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to halt Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, pausing a pair of lower court rulings that had blocked the funding cut.

  • September 11, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs $183M FCA Award Over Eli Lilly Drug Rebates

    The Seventh Circuit refused on Thursday to unwind a whistleblower's $183 million trial win against Eli Lilly in a false claims case targeting more than a decade of drug rebate miscalculations, saying a jury reasonably found that the company knowingly "hid the truth" about how much it charged for Medicaid-covered drugs.

  • September 11, 2025

    Panel Says $4.5M Wrongful Death Award Lacked Evidence

    A panel of the Michigan state appeals court on Wednesday undid a $4.5 million default judgment against a bus driver who ran over a man in Detroit, finding the estate of the man did not provide enough evidence to support the damages amount.

  • September 11, 2025

    Trump Admin Should Release Climate Panel Docs, Judge Says

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday encouraged the Trump administration to voluntarily turn over records from a recently disbanded panel that environmental groups say worked secretly with regulators to justify a proposed reversal of the government's longstanding position that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health.

  • September 11, 2025

    Mistrial Declared For Execs Accused Of Bribing Navy Admiral

    A D.C. federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of two consulting company executives accused of bribing a top U.S. Navy admiral with a lucrative post-retirement job in exchange for government contracts.

  • September 10, 2025

    Feds Barred From Axing 30-Year Noncitizen Services, For Now

    A Rhode Island federal judge Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enacting a policy change requiring immigration status checks for a number of federally funded community services, saying a coalition of Democratic-led states is likely to succeed in its assertion that the move is unconstitutional, as well as arbitrary and capricious.

  • September 10, 2025

    FTC Urged To Probe Microsoft Over Ascension Data Breach

    U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into Microsoft's "gross cybersecurity negligence" that has allegedly contributed to cyberattacks against critical infrastructure providers, including a 2024 ransomware hack that targeted hospital system Ascension.

  • September 10, 2025

    FCC's Carr Says Agency Clawbacks Save More Than $9M

    The Federal Communications Commission will be clawing back more than $9 million in overpayments that it says it mistakenly made to telecoms and discovered as part of an audit of the "antiquated high-cost program."

  • September 10, 2025

    NJ Comptroller Targets Firm Linked To Exonerated Mogul

    A New Jersey insurance brokerage founded by Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III violated public contracting laws and failed to disclose conflicts of interest to state regulators, according to a report by the state's Office of the State Comptroller.

  • September 10, 2025

    VA Botched $12M Texas Hospital Renovation, Per Report

    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General released a report Wednesday finding that the agency botched a decade-long, $12 million emergency room remodel in Texas by failing to properly install outlets for equipment.

  • September 10, 2025

    Feds Want 10 Years For Ex-Navy Admiral In Bribe Case

    Prosecutors asked a federal judge Tuesday to sentence a former top U.S. Navy admiral to more than 10 years for corruption, while his own legal team said a sentence without prison time will be enough punishment.

  • September 10, 2025

    Meet The Attys Now Fighting Judge Newman's Suspension

    Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's main attorney in the fight against her suspension from the appeals court has departed from the New Civil Liberties Alliance, leaving his former colleagues to head the litigation.

  • September 10, 2025

    Unions' Challenge To Fed. Layoffs, Reorganizations Proceeds

    The Trump administration must continue facing a union-backed challenge to its federal worker layoffs and agency reorganizations, a California federal judge ruled, tossing the administration's argument that the U.S. Supreme Court cast enough doubt on the suit's legitimacy by pausing an injunction to justify dismissing the case.

  • September 10, 2025

    FTA Probes Charlotte Transit After Fatal Light Rail Stabbing

    The Federal Transit Administration has launched itself into the fray surrounding the stabbing death of a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee on a city light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina, announcing on Wednesday that it is investigating the city transit system's compliance with federal safety regulations.

  • September 10, 2025

    CORRECTED: Fla. Court Affirms $131M Judgment For Trinidad And Tobago

    A Florida appeals court Wednesday affirmed a $131 million judgment against a trio of businessmen a jury found conspired to defraud the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago out of more than $32 million in a bid-rigging scheme that involved the government awarding hyperinflated airport construction contracts.

  • September 09, 2025

    DOD's Cybersecurity Rule May Help Fend Off FCA Claims

    The U.S. Department of Defense's requirement for certain contractors to have a third-party assessor review their cybersecurity compliance, implemented in a final rule Tuesday, could help contractors protect themselves from False Claims Act enforcement.

  • September 09, 2025

    Head Start Immigration Checks May Be Paused, Judge Hints

    A Washington federal judge seemed open to freezing a Trump administration policy requiring Head Start participants to prove citizenship, directing questions during a Tuesday hearing to how children will be affected after three decades of contrary practice.

  • September 09, 2025

    Mitsubishi Accused Of Dodging Pollution Regs With Deception

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. was hit with a proposed class action in Washington federal court Monday by a commercial fisher accusing the company of deploying a deceptive sales tactic to circumvent federal emissions regulations for marine engines and replacing engines with cheaper, dirtier alternatives that don't comply with U.S. laws. 

  • September 09, 2025

    Roberts Pauses Foreign Aid Distribution For Now

    Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday temporarily stayed a lower court's order requiring the Trump administration to release roughly $4 billion in frozen foreign aid while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a longer-term solution. 

  • September 09, 2025

    Feds Say Lejeune Litigants Can't Link Chemical To Illnesses

    The U.S. government asked a North Carolina federal judge to bar veterans and family members suing over injuries from toxic water at Camp Lejeune from claiming that one particular substance caused various diseases at issue in the litigation.

Expert Analysis

  • Health Insurance Kickback Cases Signal Greater Gov't Focus

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • Insuring Against FCA Risk In Shifting Trade Landscape

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    In today's heightened trade enforcement environment, companies should proactively assess whether their insurance programs are positioned to respond to potential False Claims Act or customs-related claims, including reviewing directors and officers, professional liability, and representations and warranties policies for key terms, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • SAM Update May Ease Tricky Timing Technicalities

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent rule update, clarifying the System for Award Management's registration requirement, may reduce the number of disqualifications and bid protests resulting from minor lapses, but government contractors should still implement​ procedures t​o ensure early submission​ of registration renewals, say attorneys at Butzel Long.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

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    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Teaching Trial Advocacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Teaching trial advocacy skills to other lawyers makes us better litigators because it makes us question our default methods, connect to young attorneys with new perspectives and focus on the needs of the real people at the heart of every trial, say Reuben Guttman, Veronica Finkelstein and Joleen Youngers.

  • Federal AI Action Plan Marks A Shift For Health And Bio Fields

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    The Trump administration's recent artificial intelligence action plan significantly expands federal commitments across biomedical agencies, defining a pivotal moment for attorneys and others involved in research collaborations, managing regulatory compliance and AI-related intellectual property, says Mehrin Masud-Elias at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Texas AUSA To BigLaw

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    As I learned when I transitioned from an assistant U.S. attorney to a BigLaw partner, the move from government to private practice is not without its hurdles, but it offers immense potential for growth and the opportunity to use highly transferable skills developed in public service, says Jeffery Vaden at Bracewell.

  • Advice For 1st-Gen Lawyers Entering The Legal Profession

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    Nikki Hurtado at The Ferraro Law Firm tells her story of being a first-generation lawyer and how others who begin their professional journeys without the benefit of playbooks handed down by relatives can turn this disadvantage into their greatest strength.

  • How 9th Circ. Customs Ruling Is Affecting FCA Litigation

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent Island Industries decision holding that the U.S. Court of International Trade doesn’t have exclusive jurisdiction over whistleblower suits involving import duties has set the stage for the False Claims Act to be a key weapon on the customs enforcement battlefield, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Coaching Cheerleading Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    At first glance, cheerleading and litigation may seem like worlds apart, but both require precision, adaptability, leadership and the ability to stay composed under pressure — all of which have sharpened how I approach my work in the emotionally complex world of mass torts and personal injury, says Rashanda Bruce at Robins Kaplan.

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