Government Contracts

January 21, 2025
What Gov't Contractors Must Know About Trump Exec Actions

President Donald Trump's flood of executive orders following his inauguration included a number of measures targeted at or broadly affecting federal contractors, such as lifting Biden administration antidiscrimination and climate change-related requirements and restarting border wall construction.
January 21, 2025
Navy, Tetra Tech Strike $97M Deal Over Navy Cleanup Work

The U.S. Navy and a Tetra Tech unit have reached two settlements amounting to $97 million, resolving claims the subsidiary billed the Navy for radiation remediation services at a former Navy shipyard in San Francisco that it did not actually perform.
January 21, 2025
Colo. City Blocking Fiber Co. For Own Benefit, Suit Says

Colorado's second-biggest city has been denying a fiber internet company access to its utility easements because it doesn't want it competing with the city's own internet service, Metronet claims in a new lawsuit.
January 21, 2025
Trump Installs New Prisons Chief, Revives Private Facilities

President Donald Trump made sweeping changes to the criminal justice system in his first hours in office, including replacing the Federal Bureau of Prisons director brought in under the Biden administration and ending former President Joe Biden's plan to phase out privately run federal prisons.
January 21, 2025
CNN Inks Post-Verdict Deal In Contractor's Defamation Suit

CNN settled a defamation lawsuit just hours after a Florida jury awarded $5 million in compensatory damages to a U.S. Navy veteran turned private defense contractor who sued the network for defamation over a report on the evacuation of Afghans in 2021.
January 21, 2025
Water Main Co. Will Pay $1M After Connecticut Fish Kill

A water main cleaning company has waived indictment and admitted to a federal charge that it discharged a pollutant into a Connecticut brook while refurbishing a culvert pipe in 2019, causing the deaths of more than 150 fish, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
January 21, 2025
Victors In Landmark Graft Case Want 2nd Top Court Review

The defendants who won a landmark 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed certain types of corruption prosecutions have asked the justices to intervene in their case again, claiming the Second Circuit had wrongly allowed the government to pursue new trials based on a different theory of fraud.
January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.
January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.
January 20, 2025
Trump, Musk Sued By Nonprofits Over DOGE Transparency

Public Citizen and other nonprofits hit the Trump administration with multiple lawsuits seeking to shut down the new Department of Government Efficiency in D.C. federal court Monday, alleging the Elon Musk-led advisory committee targeting government waste lacks requisite transparency guardrails to prevent DOGE from solely advancing private interests.
January 17, 2025
Unified Care Services To Pay $18M To Settle PPP Case

Skilled nursing chain Unified Care Services LLC and its owner have agreed to shell out $18 million to put to rest a whistleblower suit alleging the California-based company and its affiliates knowingly included false information on Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, according to an announcement made Friday.
January 17, 2025
Bayer, J&J Minimized Drug Reaction Data, 3rd Circ. Told

A doctor urged the Third Circuit on Friday to revive his whistleblower suit against Bayer Corp. and Johnson & Johnson, arguing that the drugmakers' regulatory approval applications played down the side effects of the antibiotics Cipro and Levaquin.
January 17, 2025
Contractor Asks Justices To Ax Iraqi Immunity In $120M Suit

A Pennsylvania defense contractor is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to unravel a D.C. Circuit decision to throw out a $120 million judgment against Iraq, arguing that review is needed to ensure a uniform interpretation of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
January 17, 2025
Tennessee, BlackRock Settle Suit Over ESG Goals

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Friday that his office has dismissed its lawsuit accusing BlackRock of misleading customers about its environmental, social and corporate governance investment strategies, with the asset manager committing to certain transparency and compliance measures.
January 17, 2025
Ga. Judge Shoots Down Bias Deal Between Feds, Fire Dept.

A Georgia federal judge has shot down a deal that would have resolved allegations of racial bias in hiring against a metro Atlanta county's fire department, ruling that the proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice lacked a basis to justify prioritizing future Black applicants.
January 17, 2025
Ex-Conn. State Employee Accused In $1.9M Medicaid Scam

A former employee of Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management is one of two people charged by federal authorities with defrauding the state Medicaid program out of nearly $1.9 million by submitting false claims for services for children with autism, the U.S. attorney's office said Friday.
January 17, 2025
Ga. Law Firm Beats DQ Bid In FCA Suit Against Tool Co.

A Georgia federal judge has rejected a former tool company employee's bid to have a Smith Gilliam Williams & Miles PA attorney disqualified from representing the business in a False Claims Act suit, saying he failed to show that the attorney violated ethical rules to warrant his removal.
January 17, 2025
Recalled Ex-Oakland Mayor Indicted On Bribery Charges

Federal prosecutors announced criminal bribery charges Friday against former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao along with her partner and two others following a yearslong FBI corruption investigation, alleging she and her partner accepted cash payments of $95,000 disguised as no-show jobs, among other allegations.
January 16, 2025
No 'Half Measures' On Tort Reform In 2025, Ga. Gov Pledges

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp threw down the gauntlet in his annual State of the State address Thursday and promised to deliver on tort reform, for decades an intractable issue in Peach State politics.
January 16, 2025
New Proposal For Controlled Information Not Entirely Realistic

A proposed rule intended to clear up confusion and better protect controlled unclassified information via a governmentwide standard has created new uncertainties and could lead to unattainable demands such as unrealistic incident reporting deadlines.
January 16, 2025
Teradyne Tells 9th Circ. Jury Should Weigh Copyright Row

Teradyne urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive its allegations Astronics Test Systems lifted its copyrighted code to sell competing digital test instruments, arguing there are factual disputes a jury should have resolved, including whether Astronics' copying was fair use and the amount of code used.
January 16, 2025
L3Harris CEO Urges Musk, Ramaswamy To Limit Bid Protests

L3Harris Technologies' CEO published an open letter Wednesday to leaders of the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency — billionaire Elon Musk and ex-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy — calling on them to overhaul the defense contracting process and limit bid protests to three per year, per contractor, among other changes.
January 16, 2025
Biden Makes Final Push To Fortify US Cybersecurity Posture

President Joe Biden took the latest step toward boosting the nation's cybersecurity Thursday, issuing an executive order that requires software vendors that work with the government to prove they're meeting certain security standards and promote the use of artificial intelligence for cyberdefense.
January 16, 2025
Fed. Circ. Calls Newman's Constitutional Challenge 'Meritless'

The Federal Circuit Judicial Council urged the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to reject U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's argument that the suspension her colleagues have imposed on her for refusing to participate in an investigation into her fitness to serve on the bench is unconstitutional.
January 16, 2025
Trump's HUD Pick Opposes Telework, Backs Opportunity Zones

Eric Scott Turner, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said he would bring the agency's largely remote workforce back to the office and boost a popular incentive for development in testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

Editor's Picks

The Latest On Escobar's FCA Impact

Federal courts across the country are handing down important rulings interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on False Claims Act liability in Universal Health Services v. Escobar. As the rulings keep pouring in, stay up to speed on Law360’s latest coverage and analysis of Escobar’s impact.

Expert Analysis

3 Noteworthy Effects Of The 2025 NDAA

The 2025 defense budget includes further restrictions on semiconductor sales to Huawei, requiring companies to rethink customer-base oversight, but other provisions are likely to broaden procurement contract opportunities, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.
FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
Public Corruption Enforcement In 2024 Has Clues For 2025

If 2024 activity is any indication, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely continue to rein in expansive prosecutorial theories of fraud in the year to come, but it’s harder to predict what the new administration will mean for public corruption prosecutions in 2025, says Cathy Fleming at Offit Kurman.
Anticipating How GAO Pleading Standards May Shift

The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act's mandate to create an enhanced pleading standard at the U.S. Government Accountability Office may change the calculus for where to file when challenging a U.S. Department of Defense procurement, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.
US-China Deal Considerations Amid Cross-Border Uncertainty

With China seemingly set to respond to the incoming U.S. administration's call for strategic decoupling and tariffs, companies on both sides of the Pacific should explore deals and internal changes to mitigate risks and overcome hurdles to their strategic plans, say attorneys at Covington.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
How 2025 NDAA May Affect DOD Procurement Protests

A bid protest pilot program included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act shifts litigation costs onto unsuccessful bid protesters and raises claim-filing thresholds, which could increase risks to U.S. Department of Defense contractors who file protests, and reduce oversight of DOD procurement awards, say attorneys at Venable.
Opinion

No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.
What To Expect From Federal Cybersecurity Policy In 2025

There are 12 cyber policy questions to keep an eye on as the new administration and Republican control of Congress present an opportunity to advance less regulatory approaches and revisit some choices from the prior administration, say attorneys at Wiley.
Republican Trifecta Amplifies Risks For Cos. In 3 Key Areas

Expected coordination between a Republican Congress and presidential administration may expose companies to simultaneous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, particularly with regard to supply chain risks in certain industries, government contracting and cross-border investment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Bid Protest Spotlight: Certification, Lateness, SBA Eligibility

In this month's bid protest roundup, Cody Fisher at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that address the treatment of a proposal that was timely submitted but received late, and highlight nuances of certification and small business eligibility requirements.