Government Contracts

  • March 22, 2024

    Calif. Releases Interim Guidlines On GenAI Use

    The state of California on Thursday released interim guidelines for public-sector procurement, uses and training of generative artificial intelligence by state leaders in preparation for all state agencies to consider pilot projects using the technology by July, per Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order issued last year.

  • March 21, 2024

    LA City Official Ran Secret Consulting Firm, RICO Jury Told

    Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan secretly ran an outside real estate consulting firm for years while still employed at City Hall and covertly worked to help get his client's planned $700 million hotel renovation approved, his former business partner testified Thursday at Chan's federal racketeering trial.

  • March 21, 2024

    10th Circ. Doubts Officers Can Get Redo In Training Attack

    A Tenth Circuit panel was skeptical Thursday that tactical officers at a Colorado supermax prison can challenge a trial court's decision not to hold an evidentiary hearing in a suit about a training exercise that turned violent, with one judge noting that the officers did not object at the time.

  • March 21, 2024

    DOL Says Prevailing Wage Rule Hasn't Hurt Construction Orgs

    The U.S. Department of Labor asked a Texas federal court to dismiss construction industry trade organizations' bid to unwind a 2023 rule revising prevailing wage methodologies for federal construction projects, saying the groups failed to assert viable injuries.

  • March 21, 2024

    GAO OKs Trade Compliance In Defense Container Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office backed the Defense Logistics Agency's reliance on a contractor's certification that containers it was tapped to ship would use South Korean materials, rejecting a protester's contention the agency should have suspected materials would instead come from China.

  • March 21, 2024

    El Paso Says US Can't Weigh In On Tribal Land Suit

    El Paso, Texas, is fighting the federal government's bid to back the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in its land ownership suit, arguing that the government is trying to force a school district to exchange land with the tribe for a promise it won't file aboriginal rights' claims in the area.

  • March 21, 2024

    Army's Rush For New Strykers Backfired, GAO Says

    The U.S. Army introduced risks to a program meant to increase the lethality of Stryker combat vehicles by ordering more than 260 upgraded vehicles without first reviewing whether the contractor was ready to produce them, a federal watchdog has reported.

  • March 21, 2024

    VA May Have Acted In Bad Faith On $30M Debt Collection Deal

    The U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals refused to toss a $29.6 million appeal accusing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of hampering a contractor's efforts to collect funds from outside insurers, saying the VA may have acted in bad faith.

  • March 21, 2024

    Hospital Operator Alecto Healthcare Gets OK For Ch. 11 Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge agreed to give hospital operator Alecto Healthcare Services LLC the all-clear on the company's Chapter 11 reorganization plan, saying the scheme was fair, achievable and made appropriate provisions for disposable income.

  • March 21, 2024

    Fla. High Court Won't Take Up Gambling Compact Challenge

    The Florida Supreme Court refused Thursday to take up a challenge by two casino operators over the state's gambling pact with the Seminole Tribe, declaring the petition — which says the governor exceeded his authority in signing the pact — is the improper vehicle for assessing the constitutionality of the pact.

  • March 21, 2024

    6th Circ. Judge Doubts Challenge To $39B Student Debt Relief

    A Sixth Circuit judge was skeptical Thursday that two libertarian think tanks had shown the Biden administration's plan to wipe out billions of dollars in student loan debt puts them at a disadvantage to recruit indebted lawyers, saying the groups didn't fully explain who they were competing against.

  • March 21, 2024

    Government Contractor Wants Out Of Exit Pay Suit

    A government contractor said federal law doesn't cover its policy giving employees a bonus upon retirement, but workers lodging a lawsuit against the company weren't eligible for the payments anyway, urging a North Carolina court to toss the suit.

  • March 20, 2024

    Bridge Repair Workers Get Partial Cert. In Conn. OT Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge has conditionally certified a boat captain's federal wage claims against a government subcontractor specializing in bridge projects, reasoning he sufficiently pled a violation of overtime pay policy, while declining to greenlight sub-collectives under New Jersey and Pennsylvania laws.

  • March 20, 2024

    Philly Charter School Exec Convicted Of Embezzlement

    A nonprofit executive was convicted Wednesday in Pennsylvania federal court on all 18 counts of siphoning funds from a tax-exempt educational and housing organization to live lavishly, while the same jury found a colleague guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud but absolved him of other charges.

  • March 20, 2024

    Republican Bill Targets Colleges Hiring Unauthorized Workers

    Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., have introduced legislation to prevent universities that receive federal funding from hiring unauthorized immigrants.

  • March 20, 2024

    How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron

    After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.

  • March 20, 2024

    Breaking Down Each State's Climate Priority Policies

    Forty-five states have now completed climate action plans outlining how they'll advance federal climate goals through policy and programs in coming years, with most focusing at least in part on real estate development as a way to reduce emissions.

  • March 20, 2024

    Intel, Commerce Dept. Forge $8.5B Logic Chip Partnership

    A proposed $8.5 billion partnership between the federal government and Intel Corp. could yield thousands of jobs and up to $100 billion in logic chip facility expansion and modernization in four states.

  • March 20, 2024

    Senators Want More Scrutiny For Defense M&A Deals

    Two U.S. senators are calling on the Pentagon to shift the way it reviews defense industry mergers and dedicate more staff to the task, saying that contractor consolidation is jeopardizing national security and diminishing returns for taxpayer dollars.

  • March 20, 2024

    Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2024 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards.

  • March 20, 2024

    US Chamber's Litigation Funding Concerns Spur 2 State Laws

    Amid concerns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about third-party litigation funding, including from potentially hostile foreign entities, state legislatures in Indiana and West Virginia have recently passed bills imposing restrictions on the practice.

  • March 19, 2024

    Texas Energy Co. Should Put Service Before Price, Court Hints

    Texas Supreme Court justices questioned an electricity provider about its argument that the Public Utility Commission of Texas' policy setting price caps during extreme events goes against state law, asking if the agency should prioritize competition over keeping "the lights on" during oral arguments Tuesday.

  • March 19, 2024

    Contractor Can't Refute GSA Audit Power, Gov't Tells DC Circ.

    The federal government urged the D.C. Circuit to uphold a lower court ruling that the General Services Administration had the authority to audit a Crowley Government Services Inc. military transportation contract, saying the ruling leaned on a clear interpretation of an underlying statute.

  • March 19, 2024

    LA Councilman's Wife Tells RICO Jury Of Vegas Cash Wads

    Former Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar's wife got into a disagreement with him once over a wad of cash he brought back from a trip to Las Vegas with a billionaire developer, she testified Tuesday to a federal jury considering racketeering charges against another former city official, Raymond Chan.

  • March 19, 2024

    GEO Fights Wash. Bid For State Inspectors' Entry Into ICE Jail

    GEO Group is pushing back against Washington state's request for a preliminary injunction forcing the private prison operator to let inspectors into a Tacoma-area immigrant detention facility, saying the suit is likely to flop, especially given a federal judge's recent decision to partially suspend the state law regulators have relied upon to get inside.  

Expert Analysis

  • How DOD Can Improve Flexibility Under Proposed Cyber Rule

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    The U.S. Department of Defense should carefully address some of the more nuanced aspects of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program to avoid unintended consequences, specifically the proposal to severely limit contractor use of plans of actions and milestones, say Joshua Duvall at Maynard Nexsen and Sandeep Kathuria at L3Harris Technologies.

  • Fed. Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify When Gov't Clawback Is Timely

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    The Federal Circuit’s examination of claims accrual in a January decision that allows the Defense Contract Management Agency to pursue overpayment claims under a cost-reimbursement contract serves as a reminder that the government can lose such claims by waiting too long to file, say Evan Sherwood and Peter Hutt at Covington.

  • Preparing For DOJ's Data Analytics Push In FCPA Cases

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    After the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent announcement that it will leverage data analytics in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations and prosecutions, companies will need to develop a compliance strategy that likewise implements data analytics to get ahead of enforcement risks, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Considering The Logical Extremes Of Your Legal Argument

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    Recent oral arguments in the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump highlighted the age-old technique of extending an argument to its logical limit — a principle that is still important for attorneys to consider in preparing their cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • How 3 New Laws Change Calif. Nonprofits' Legal Landscape

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    Legislation that went into effect on Jan. 1 should be welcomed by California’s nonprofit organizations, which may now receive funding more quickly, rectify past noncompliance more easily and have greater access to the states’ security funding program, say Casey Williams and Brett Overby at Liebert Cassidy.

  • ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals

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    ChristianaCare's False Claims Act settlement in December is the first one based on a hospital allegedly providing private physicians with free services in the form of hospital-employed clinicians and provides important compliance lessons as the government ramps up scrutiny of compensation arrangements, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo

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    Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Opinion

    The PLUS Act Is The Best Choice For Veterans

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    Of two currently pending federal legislative proposals, the Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services Act's plan to diversify and expedite the processing of veterans' claims through an expanded network of accredited providers offers the better solution, say Michael Andrews at McGuireWoods and Matthew Feehan at Nearside Solutions.

  • Skirting Anti-Kickback Causation Standard Amid Circuit Split

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    Amid the federal circuit court split over the causation standard applicable to False Claims Act cases involving Anti-Kickback Statute violations, which the First Circuit will soon consider in U.S. v. Regeneron, litigators aiming to circumvent the heightened standard should contemplate certain strategies, say Matthew Modafferi and Terence Park at Frier Levitt.

  • What New Calif. Strike Force Means For White Collar Crimes

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    The recently announced Central District of California strike force targeting complex corporate and securities fraud — following the Northern District of California's model — combines experienced prosecutorial leadership and partnerships with federal agencies like the IRS and FBI, and could result in an uptick in the number of cases and speed of proceedings, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing And A Golden Rule

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Victoria Angle at MoFo examines one recent decision that clarifies the elements necessary to establish prejudice and federal claims court standing in multiphase protests, and two that exemplify a government procurements golden rule.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Grant Compliance Takeaways From Ga. Tech's FCA Settlement

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    Georgia Tech’s recent False Claims Act settlement over its failure to detect compliance shortcomings in a grant program was unique in that it involved a voluntary repayment of funds prior to the resolution, offering a few key lessons for universities receiving research funding from the government, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

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