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Government Contracts

  • July 18, 2025

    Judge Questions Basis For Planned Parenthood Funding Cuts

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday pressed the government for any plausible rationale, besides retaliation, for a provision in Congress' budget reconciliation that will prevent Planned Parenthood and its affiliates from receiving Medicaid reimbursements if any one of them offers abortion services.

  • July 18, 2025

    Commerce Adviser Joins MoFo National Security Group In DC

    A former U.S. Department of Commerce adviser who focused on semiconductor export controls has returned to private practice at Morrison Foerster LLP, the firm announced.

  • July 18, 2025

    DC Circ. Backs Crowley In GSA Audit Powers Fight

    The General Services Administration lacked authority to audit bills Crowley Government Services Inc. submitted under a freight contract with U.S. Transportation Command since the company was not operating as a carrier, a split D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday.

  • July 17, 2025

    9th Circ. Panel Appears Split On Trump Order Curbing Unions

    A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel appeared divided Thursday on a lower court's ruling that halted enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order axing labor contracts covering agencies that have "national security" aims, with one judge expressing concern over the order's implications while two questioned if they can second-guess the president's determination.

  • July 17, 2025

    COVID Fraudster Says State Can't Rescind Firefighter Pension

    A former Connecticut firefighter who pled guilty in relation to a West Haven COVID-19 relief fund scam says he should keep the pension he earned through 26 years of service in a neighboring city, arguing his crime bore no connection to his onetime employment and did not breach his union contract.

  • July 17, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Ex-Quest Diagnostics Worker's FCA Suit Fails

    The Eleventh Circuit declined to revive a former Quest Diagnostics Inc. compliance officer's False Claims Act suit against the lab testing company, ruling she had failed to allege a specific claim of medical billing fraud after some 15 years of litigation.

  • July 17, 2025

    6 Cases For Patent Attys To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025

    The Federal Circuit is considering major questions about when delays in prosecuting patents become bad faith and whether the acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director is legally allowed to apply new rules retroactively. Here's what you need to know about these cases and others that attorneys are keeping an eye on for the rest of the year.

  • July 17, 2025

    Fla. Judge Rejects US Service Members' Timeshare Claims

    A Florida federal judge sided with Holiday Inn Club Vacations Inc. and its timeshare financier on Thursday in a putative class action by two U.S. Air Force members alleging that their timeshare loan contracts violated the Military Lending Act.

  • July 17, 2025

    Bombing Victims Seek Damages For Iran's Support Of Attacks

    Dozens of people allegedly harmed by bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan, have asked a D.C. federal judge to order the Islamic Republic of Iran to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for providing material support for the terrorist attacks.

  • July 17, 2025

    Mass. Cities Seek Order Forcing Trash Hauler To Honor Pacts

    Nearly three weeks after Republic Services workers went on strike, six Massachusetts communities went to court Thursday seeking an order compelling the trash hauler to immediately address what they say is a public health nuisance.

  • July 17, 2025

    IRS Leaker Asks DC Circ. To Bar Comments By Ex-Employer

    A tech worker appealing a five-year sentence for leaking tax returns while on the job at the IRS through contractor Booz Allen asked the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to block his former employer from weighing in, saying the company's opinion that he should finish his prison term is irrelevant.

  • July 17, 2025

    USDA Should Revisit $22M IT Deal, GAO Says

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office urged the Department of Agriculture to reconsider a $22.8 million task order for IT services, saying the agency had failed to meaningfully respond to claims that it was unfair in its evaluation of proposals for the award.

  • July 16, 2025

    Internet Co. Can't Win $33M Indonesia Judgment In NY Court

    A New York federal judge has tossed litigation initiated by a Jakarta, Indonesia-based internet service provider to enforce a $32.7 million judgment against Indonesia following arbitration over a government contract to implement mobile access centers around the country.

  • July 16, 2025

    Nonprofits Taking Immigrant Legal Aid Fight To DC Circ.

    Nonprofit groups that are trying to stop the U.S. Department of Justice from cutting off funding to four programs that provide legal information to noncitizens are taking their fight with the Trump administration to the D.C. Circuit after a federal judge killed their lawsuit.

  • July 16, 2025

    GAO Tells Congress Loser-Pays Model Not Needed

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a letter to Congress that it does not endorse creating a loser-pays model for unsuccessful protests of defense contracts because sufficient measures already exist to limit the impact of protests filed without a substantial basis.

  • July 16, 2025

    Union Pension Fund Says Cos. Can't Get Fees In ERISA Row

    A Tennessee federal judge should deny two companies' "extraordinary" request for a union pension fund to cover their attorney fees in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act dispute, the union argued Wednesday, saying the section of ERISA the lawsuit was lodged under doesn't allow for attorney fee awards.

  • July 16, 2025

    FEMA Targeted In 20-State Suit Over Pre-Disaster Grant Cuts

    A coalition of 20 states led by Washington and Massachusetts sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Boston federal court Wednesday, accusing the Trump administration of illegally cutting off billions of dollars in grants for proactive disaster mitigation projects across the country.

  • July 16, 2025

    Judge Says Navy Must Face Contamination Claim At Calif. Site

    A Court of Federal Claims judge trimmed some but not all claims from a suit alleging the Navy breached its obligation to remediate newly discovered petroleum and chloroform contamination at a Novato, California, property it sold two decades ago.

  • July 15, 2025

    Trump Admin Seeks Win In Harvard $2B Funding Freeze Case

    The Trump administration urged a Massachusetts federal judge Monday to grant it summary judgment in Harvard University's lawsuit challenging the government's effort to freeze $2.2 billion in funding, arguing the dispute is a contract fight that belongs in the Federal Claims Court and the allegations fail on the merits.

  • July 15, 2025

    Patent Fight Over Xtandi Erupts Anew Before RFK Jr.

    A new dispute is playing out over the price of a prostate cancer drug that was developed at University of California, Los Angeles, and is being sold by Pfizer, with the federal government being pushed on the issue of using its authority to allow early entry of generics.

  • July 15, 2025

    Protest Over $985M Migrant Kid Transport Deal Deemed Moot

    A Court of Federal Claims judge threw out a protest lodged against the General Services Administration over its decision to award a nearly $1 billion transportation and logistics contract for unaccompanied children in federal custody to a competitor.

  • July 15, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Rethink Affirmance Of $8M KBR Award

    The Fourth Circuit will not be rethinking its decision rebuff a Kuwaiti construction company's attempt to nix an $8 million arbitral award favoring Kellogg Brown & Root International, the appeals court has ruled.

  • July 15, 2025

    Texas Cities Cite Gov't Immunity In Farmers' PFAS Suit

    Governmental entities led by Fort Worth submitted a brief to a Texas federal court Tuesday supporting their immunity in managing wastewater operations in connection with a proposed class action from farmers who claim their lands were contaminated by toxic chemicals.

  • July 15, 2025

    Delta To Pay $8.1M To End FCA Whistleblower Suit

    Delta Air Lines Inc. on Tuesday agreed to pay $8.1 million to settle whistleblower claims that it paid some corporate officers and other employees beyond compensation limits the airline agreed to under a Treasury Department pandemic relief program.

  • July 15, 2025

    Booz Allen Urges DC Circ. To Affirm IRS Leak Sentence

    Government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton urged the D.C. Circuit to uphold the five-year prison sentence of its former employee for leaking tax returns while on a job at the IRS, saying the crime has hurt the company's reputation and subjected it to "baseless lawsuits."

Expert Analysis

  • CARES Act Fraud Enforcement Is Unlikely To Slow Down

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    In the five years since the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the federal government has devoted massive resources to investigating CARES Act fraud — and all signs suggest the U.S. Department of Justice will continue vigorous enforcement in this area, say attorneys at Kostelanetz.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

  • Series

    Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

  • 4 Precautions For Responsible AI Use In Bid Protests

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    Despite the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s May warning that it will impose stiff sanctions on bid protesters whose filings contain artificial intelligence-generated mistakes and hallucinations, generative AI can be a valuable tool for the bid protest bar if used with safeguards, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

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    Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing

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    Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 3 Rulings May Reveal Next Frontier Of Gov't Contract Cases

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    Several U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past year — involving wire fraud, gratuities and obstruction — offer wide-ranging and arguably conflicting takeaways for government contractors that are especially relevant given the Trump administration’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

  • 9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

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    District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Spearin, Overpayments, Jurisdiction

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    Edward Arnold at Seyfarth examines three recent decisions addressing the limits of the Spearin doctrine in design-build contracts, the government's ability to recoup overpayments after a termination for convenience, and the Contract Disputes Act's strict and nonwaivable jurisdictional rules.

  • Series

    Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

  • Policy Shifts May Follow Burst Of Defense Cyber Settlements

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    Recent False Claims Act settlements with defense contractors MORSECORP and Nightwing suggest that cybersecurity standards for government contractors remain a key enforcement priority, but these may represent a final flurry of activity before the Trump administration transitions to different policy goals, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech

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    New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication

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    As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.

  • When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility

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    As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • FCPA Enforcement Is Here To Stay, But It May Look Different

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    After a monthslong enforcement pause, the U.S. Department of Justice’s new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines fundamentally shift prosecutorial discretion and potentially reduce investigatory burdens for organizations, but open questions remain, so companies should continue to exercise caution, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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