Government Contracts

Fed. Circ. Limits Gov't Contractors' Litigation Cost Claims

The Federal Circuit's July 16 decision in Bechtel National v. United States upholds the precedent set in Geren v. Tecom, making it harder for contractors to argue government agencies indicated their willingness to reimburse them for third-party litigation expenses through contract terms, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

Remembering Justice Stevens As A Law Firm Leader

Rothschild Barry's John Coffey, who joined Justice John Paul Stevens' law firm in 1965, shares what it was like to watch Justice Stevens practice law, mentor younger lawyers and land a malfunctioning plane.

The Latest Executive Order On Buying American Has Teeth

Earlier executive orders aimed at strengthening compliance with the Buy American Act were essentially position statements. Monday’s executive order differs, however, because it proposes a textual change to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, one that would have wide-ranging, potentially disruptive effects on government contractors, say attorneys at Covington.

Answers To Key Legal Finance Ethics Questions

While there is discussion in some quarters about new regulations on commercial legal finance, the hands-off approach taken by the majority of courts and legislatures is an implicit recognition that it is already sufficiently regulated, says Danielle Cutrona of Burford Capital.

Inside A Closely Watched FCA And FIRREA Decision

Last week’s district court decision in Luce v. U.S. interprets a stricter standard of causation for False Claims Act cases and, significantly, makes a helpful contribution to a dearth of case law interpreting the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act’s penalty provisions, says Derek Adams of Feldesman Tucker.

Federal Agencies Need A Uniform Record-Keeping Process

The administrative record is very important to federal agency litigation — as showcased in last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision concerning the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census — yet there is no set of consistent principles to guide agencies in compiling these official records, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

The Role Of Dictionaries In Last Term's High Court Decisions

Since 32 of the 67 decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court during its October term cite dictionaries, it’s worth reviewing the opinions to learn which dictionaries the justices consulted and how they used them, say Bruce Wessel and Brian Weissenberg of Irell & Manella.

How To Evaluate The Rise In Legal Employment

Although the rate of employment for law school graduates — which had been falling steadily — saw a small increase over the last year, other factors, such as fewer graduates overall and potential future job growth stagnation, temper the good news for those pursuing law degrees, say Tiffane Cochran and Tyler Grimm of AccessLex Institute.

How High Court FOIA Ruling Will Help Gov't Contractors

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Food Marketing Institute v. Argus decision will make it easier for government contractors to protect financial information from Freedom of Information Act requests even though the new standard for obtaining a FOIA exemption is somewhat unclear, say James Boland and Christopher Griesedieck of Venable.

Opinion

The Business Case For Championing Diverse Legal Teams

Leveraging the collective strengths of a diverse workforce is not only the right thing to do, it’s a strategic imperative for any successful firm or business, says Louise Pentland, executive vice president and chief business affairs and legal officer of PayPal.

Bid Protest Spotlight: Timing, RFP Criteria, Award Calculation

In his monthly bid protest roundup, Charles Capito of Morrison & Foerster discusses three June decisions — a U.S. Court of Federal Claims opinion evaluating a highly unusual procedural posture, a U.S. Government Accountability Office finding regarding criteria used to distinguish identical offerors, and a GAO finding about the incorporation of prime contractor fees in award percentages.

High Court FOIA Ruling Has Trade Secrets Implications

Recently, in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus, the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the meaning of the term "confidential" in Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act in a manner that will impose many costs on the federal government, including more criminal responsibility under the Trade Secrets Act, says Sharon Sandeen of Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

Rethinking The Tech-First Approach To Law Firm Solutions

When a lawyer complains about some workflow inefficiency they are having, the knee-jerk reaction of many firms is to look for a technology-based workaround. This overlooks the importance of human psychology and behavior, which may be the root of the problem, says Ryan Steadman of Zero.

Limits Of DOJ's Qui Tam Dismissal Authority Are Unsettled

The 2018 Granston memo led to a significant increase in U.S. Department of Justice dismissals of nonintervened qui tam suits, but last month’s Illinois federal court ruling in CIMZNHCA v. UCB is an important reminder that the DOJ’s decision to file a motion to dismiss is not a fait accompli, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

Defeating A State Tax False Claims Act Case

State-level False Claims Act tax lawsuits are on the rise, but two crucial distinctions between these suits and traditional tax administration give taxpayers a significant advantage in beating the FCA claims, say Marc Simonetti and Nicole Boutros of Pillsbury.