Government Contracts

  • March 12, 2025

    Railroad Worker Says Board Schemed To Overtax Retirees

    Retired railroad workers were incorrectly directed by the federal retirement board overseeing their funds to report millions of dollars in nontaxable benefits as taxable income in a scheme to line the board's pockets, a retiree said in a proposed class action in Texas federal court.

  • March 12, 2025

    Catholic Charity Group Says Frozen Refugee Funds Abnormal

    Catholic Charities Fort Worth argued before a D.C. federal judge on Wednesday that a purported pause on federal funding for refugee resettlement programs is abnormal and illegal, urging the court to unlock more than $36 million intended for resettling refugees in Texas.

  • March 11, 2025

    Feds Unsure When It Can Resume Refugee Program

    A "deterioration of functions" in the federal government's refugee program means the U.S. Department of State can't currently tell how long it will take to restore the program under a recent order in Washington federal court, the Trump administration informed the court.

  • March 11, 2025

    DOGE Must Quickly Cough Up Records To Watchdog Group

    A D.C. federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency to promptly hand over requested records on its role in mass firings and "dramatic disruptions" to federal programs to a watchdog group, finding that the public will likely be "irreparably harmed" if DOGE keeps dragging its feet.

  • March 11, 2025

    Northrop Grumman Mishandled Benefits Plan, Ex-Workers Say

    Former Northrop Grumman employees on Tuesday lodged a proposed class action accusing the aerospace and defense giant of mishandling an employee retirement plan's assets, telling a Virginia federal court that the company failed to act in the best interest of the plan's beneficiaries by repeatedly prioritizing offsetting employer contributions to the plan.

  • March 11, 2025

    Perkins Coie Slams Trump's Executive Order Retaliation

    Perkins Coie LLP sued the Trump administration Tuesday over an executive order targeting the firm for its diversity-focused hiring efforts and its representation of certain political figures including former Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, calling the order "an affront to the Constitution" that aims to chill future representation of certain clients.

  • March 11, 2025

    Software Co. Tells Fed. Circ. It's Owed Over $12.7M In IP Dispute

    A software developer pushed back at the federal government's defense of a $12.7 million copyright infringement award on Monday, telling the Federal Circuit that the judgment should be based on the company's actual negotiations with the Defense Health Agency.

  • March 11, 2025

    VA Did Not Pre-Select Awardee For $257M Telehealth Contract

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has rejected a protest over a $256.8 million U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs telehealth program support contract, saying the protester hadn't shown the VA "pre-selected" the awardee before making a formal award decision.

  • March 11, 2025

    Colo. Justices Uneasy About Reach Of Xcel's Immunity Claim

    Colorado's justices were concerned Tuesday about the potentially far-reaching consequences of Xcel Energy's claim that a regulatory tariff limits its liability from a man's personal injury claim, with one justice asking if it would be a "severe derogation of common law" for regulators to grant the utility such broad immunity.

  • March 11, 2025

    NJ Power Broker Fights Civil Suit After Criminal Case Victory

    South Jersey power broker George Norcross and his brother moved this week to dismiss a civil racketeering suit against them arguing that the plaintiff's claims "parroted" a criminal indictment against them that was recently dismissed.

  • March 11, 2025

    Publix's Suit Over Ga. County's Private Attys 'Beyond Reason'

    Publix can't sue a metro Atlanta county to force it to drop its private attorneys who filed an opioid suit against the supermarket chain, the Georgia Court of Appeals has said, ruling that the company "fails to show what right the county has violated by its choice of counsel."

  • March 11, 2025

    Bipartisan Bill Penalizing Child Labor Violations Reintroduced

    A bill that would heavily penalize companies that have been found in violation of child labor laws and would bar them from securing government contracts has been reintroduced by two senators.

  • March 10, 2025

    CFPB Hasn't Justified Pausing Comerica Suit, Judge Rules

    A Texas federal judge on Monday refused to pause the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's case accusing Comerica of mismanaging a government benefit card program, ruling that the CFPB hasn't explained why staying the case "would be in the interest of justice."

  • March 10, 2025

    Warren Says Defense Nominee Has 'Clear Conflict Of Interest'

    Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out deputy defense secretary nominee Stephen Feinberg on Sunday for a "clear conflict of interest" due to his ties to Ligado Networks, which is suing the federal government for $40 billion, and urged him to agree to recuse himself from any decisions about the company.

  • March 10, 2025

    Alsup Refuses To Vacate Hearing Into OPM Mass Firings

    U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Monday denied the Trump administration's request to vacate an upcoming evidentiary hearing into the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's mass firings of probationary federal employees, and required OPM director Charles Ezell to appear in person or else be deposed.

  • March 10, 2025

    All Agencies Trump Ordered To Drop DEI Must Heed Injunction

    A preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive orders axing diversity, equity and inclusion-related work applies equally to all executive agencies given directives to purge the programming, a Maryland federal judge said Monday.

  • March 10, 2025

    11th Circ. Urged To Find Qui Tam Cases Unconstitutional

    A group of defendants accused of Medicare Advantage fraud urged the Eleventh Circuit on Monday to uphold a decision finding the False Claims Act's whistleblower provision unconstitutional, saying the statutory clause violates the Constitution in multiple ways. 

  • March 10, 2025

    FCC Allows Higher Power Level For SpaceX Mobile Coverage

    The Federal Communications Commission relaxed technical limits on SpaceX's new satellite-based backup for T-Mobile service, as long as it controls possible harmful signal interference to other network users.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOT Pulls Biden Enviro Justice Highway Funding Policy

    The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday rescinded Biden-era memorandums that advised state and local agencies receiving funds from 2021's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to prioritize highway, road, bridge and other projects that promoted social justice or climate resiliency goals.

  • March 10, 2025

    CVS PBM Caused Up To $330M In Part D Damages, Judge Told

    A CVS-owned pharmacy benefits manager caused anywhere from $240 million to $330 million in damages by overbilling the government for Medicare Part D sponsored drugs, counsel for a whistleblower told a Pennsylvania federal judge at the beginning of a False Claims Act bench trial on Monday.

  • March 10, 2025

    DOJ Defends Musk's Influence Against States' Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Justice is defending Elon Musk's influence in the federal government against a constitutional challenge brought by 14 states, telling D.C. federal court that the "special government employee" does not occupy an official office that would be subject to the Constitution's appointments clause.

  • March 10, 2025

    Trump Says Refugee Groups Can't Challenge Axed Contracts

    The Trump administration urged a Washington federal judge to reject resettlement agencies' challenge to its termination of all cooperative agreements with resettlement agencies, saying the federal government has the legal authority to do so without notice if its priorities change.

  • March 10, 2025

    GAO Says NIH Treated Bidders Disparately On $20M IT Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has sustained a protest over a $19.9 million National Institutes of Health software development task order, finding the NIH unreasonably treated similar aspects of the protester's and awardee's bids differently.

  • March 10, 2025

    Comerica Sued Over Interest Earned On Gov't Benefits Cards

    Comerica Bank was hit with a proposed class action Friday claiming that the bank is not entitled to keep interest it earns on Social Security and other federal benefits Comerica distributes through government benefits cards.

  • March 07, 2025

    Hints Of A New High Court Majority Emerge In Trump Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of President Donald Trump's bid to keep frozen nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding gave court watchers a glimpse of a coalition majority that could end up thwarting some of the president's more aggressive and novel attempts to expand executive power.

Expert Analysis

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Registration, Substantiation, Experience

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Krista Nunez at MoFo looks at three recent decisions that consider the timing of System for Award Management registration, agencies’ increasing reliance on technology in procurement-related decision-making, and when small businesses can lawfully rely on a subcontractor's past-performance experience.

  • Defense Strategies For Politically Charged Prosecutions

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    Politically charged prosecutions have captured the headlines in recent years, providing lessons for defense counsel on how to navigate the distinct challenges, and seize the unique opportunities, such cases present, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • The Case For Compliance During The Trump Administration

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    Given the Trump administration’s shifting white collar enforcement priorities, C-suite executives may have the natural instinct to pare back compliance initiatives, but there are several good reasons for companies to at least stay the course on their compliance programs, if not enhance them, say attorneys at Riley Safer.

  • Opinion

    Undoing An American Ideal Of Fairness

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    President Donald Trump’s orders attacking birthright citizenship, civil rights education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs threaten hard-won constitutional civil rights protections and decades of efforts to undo bias in the law — undermining what Chief Justice Earl Warren called "our American ideal of fairness," says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • How New SBA Rule May Affect Small Government Contractors

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    By limiting competition from larger entities, the Small Business Administration's recently published final rule may help some small government contractors, but these restrictions on set-aside work following a merger, acquisition or sale may also deter small businesses' long-term growth, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • Expect Continued Antitrust Enforcement In Procurement

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    The scope of federal antitrust enforcement under the second Trump administration remains uncertain, but the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, which collaborates with federal and state agencies to enforce antitrust laws in the government procurement space, is likely to remain active — so contractors must stay vigilant, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • 2 Anti-Kickback Developments Hold Lessons For Biopharma

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's Anti-Kickback Statute settlement with QOL Medical and a favorable advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provide a study in contrasts, but there are tips for biopharma manufacturers trying to navigate the vast compliance space between them, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • How FAR Council's Proposal May Revamp Conflicts Reporting

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent proposal for updating organizational conflict of interest rules includes some welcome clarifications, but new representation and disclosure obligations would upend long-standing practices, likely increase contractors’ False Claims Act risks, and necessitate implementation of more complex OCI compliance programs, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • What Trump Admin's Anti-DEI Push Means For FCA Claims

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    President Donald Trump's recent rescission of a 60-year-old executive order imposing nondiscrimination requirements on certain federal contractors has far-reaching implications, including potential False Claims Act liability for contractors and grant recipients who fail to comply, though it may be a challenge for the government to successfully establish liability, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • What Companies Should Consider During FCPA Pause

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    While waiting for updated guidance on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act criminal investigations after a Feb. 10 executive order froze FCPA enforcement, companies should consider the implications of several possible policy shifts, rather than relaxing internal oversight of questionable business practices, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Series

    Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

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