Government Contracts

Nissan Ex-CEO Illustrates Do's And Don'ts Of Image Repair

Lawyers can draw a number of useful lessons about reputation management from the efforts of former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn — who recently escaped house arrest in Tokyo — to restore his sullied reputation, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.

3 Concerns If Your Witness Becomes Flippant At Deposition

In light of a recent Delaware Supreme Court case in which a litigator was rebuked for failing to control his evasive witness during a deposition, attorneys should consider when they may be held responsible for client misconduct and what to do if a client crosses the line, says Philip Sechler of Robbins Russell.

Reining In Runaway Loss Calculations For Procurement Fraud

In criminal prosecutions of procurement fraud cases involving set-aside contracts, prosecutors frequently argue that the victim’s loss is the total face value of the wrongfully awarded contracts, but this reasoning cannot survive basic scrutiny, say David Chaiken and Tiffany Bracewell at Troutman Sanders.

Takeaways From Exxon’s Winning OFAC Penalty Challenge

A recent Texas federal court decision overturning a $2 million Office of Foreign Assets Control fine against Exxon provides insight into OFAC's enforcement of complex sanctions and when its practices may not provide proper notice to companies subject to U.S. sanctions, say Aaron Hutman and Zachary Rozen at Pillsbury.

How OFCCP's Systemic Discrimination Audit Proposal Is Flawed

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' recently proposed new rule, laying out statistical thresholds for finding systemic discrimination, would implement a problematic method of statistical analysis and notice provisions that may provide government contractors inadequate time to respond, say Chris Wilkinson and Necia Hobbes at Orrick.

Stark Law Uncertainty Follows 3rd Circ.'s UPMC Opinion

The Third Circuit recently amended its September decision in U.S. v. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, removing a controversial interpretation of the volume-or-value standard under the Stark Law. However, the court's approach is not in line with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' analysis regarding indirect compensation arrangements, says Karl Thallner of Reed Smith.

Key Trends In Energy Antitrust Enforcement And Litigation

Antitrust agencies and private litigants continued to focus on the energy industry in 2019, and new antitrust policy initiatives announced by the U.S. Department of Justice last year will offer energy companies opportunities to avoid prosecution in certain cases, say attorneys at Vinson & Elkins.

Bid Protest Spotlight: 2019's Most Noteworthy Decisions

In this month's bid protest roundup, Victoria Angle at MoFo highlights two December decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, looks back at five of the most interesting bid protests of 2019 and provides a few takeaways from the GAO's fiscal year 2019 report.

FIRREA Remains Potent Civil Fraud Enforcement Tool

Last year, three court decisions addressing the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act's civil monetary penalties provision — two at the final judgment stage and one at the pleadings stage — expanded FIRREA jurisprudence and remind us why this statute cannot be ignored, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

How Associate Life Has Evolved Over The Past Decade

During the last 10 years, the need to embrace change was fundamental for law firms, and that change affected associates in many ways — most, but not all, for the better, says Brad Kaufman, co-president of Greenberg Traurig.

Gov't Contractor Suspension And Debarment: 2019 In Review

Attorneys at Covington look back at last year's policy trends and developments, legislative and rulemaking activity, and notable federal district court rulings related to the exclusion of contractors from doing business with the federal government.

OFAC's New Iran Sanctions May Not Signal Seismic Change

While President Donald Trump’s recent executive order expands the ability of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to sanction non-U.S. entities doing business with Iran, it remains to be seen whether OFAC will pursue aggressive enforcement of its strengthened secondary sanctions authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

2019 Trends In DOJ Civil Health Care Fraud Cases

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice maintained aggressive enforcement efforts in the health care industry, again relying heavily on the False Claims Act, but the agency is also taking steps to guide those efforts toward fairness and consistency, say attorneys at Mintz.

Series

Judging A Book: Dyk Reviews 'Democracy And Equality'

In their new book "Democracy and Equality: The Enduring Constitutional Vision of the Warren Court," Geoffrey Stone and David Strauss provide valuable context for U.S. Supreme Court decisions under Chief Justice Earl Warren that have profoundly affected the country, but their overly protective attitude sometimes obscures reality, says Federal Circuit Judge Timothy Dyk.

2019 Trends In DOJ Health Care Enforcement

Last year, opioid-related enforcement was the U.S. Department of Justice's top priority, in addition to a sustained focus on the prosecution of private individuals and data-driven identification of health care fraud, say attorneys at Mintz.