Government Contracts

  • January 31, 2025

    Trump Funding Freeze Blocked As Court Doubts Reversal

    A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from freezing spending on federal grant and aid programs, calling the move illegal and saying the issue was not mooted by a White House memo claiming the directive had been rescinded.

  • January 30, 2025

    CMS Fine To Limit $41M Deal Talks To Lowest-Priced Bidders

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has ruled that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reasonably limited its final best-value choice on a $40.8 million task order for medical auditing services to the two lowest-priced bidders.

  • January 30, 2025

    Sheriffs Raise Concern About New FCC Prison Phone Caps

    A sheriffs' group brought concerns to the Federal Communications Commission about recently adopted caps on prison phone rates, saying the exclusion of certain cost categories would lead to less access to services for the incarcerated.

  • January 30, 2025

    NOAA Not Liable For Unordered Items, Judge Says

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration doesn't owe anything to a nonprofit that stocked up on inventory to be able to meet the terms of a blanket purchase agreement only to see the items go unordered, a Court of Federal Claims judge ruled.

  • January 30, 2025

    Gov't Urges High Court To OK 2nd 'Buffalo Billion' Trial

    The federal government asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clear the way for a second trial in a public corruption case tied to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" development initiative, saying prosecutors should be allowed to pursue charges under a different theory after the justices undid the original convictions.

  • January 30, 2025

    Pa. Pot Panels Not 'Arbitrary' In Assigning Different Scores

    A Pennsylvania appeals panel rejected a petition from a dispensary owner who challenged the state Department of Health's denial of one of his applications, finding the DOH wasn't arbitrary just because two of his proposed locations received different scores on their identical applications.

  • January 30, 2025

    Food Co. Pays $950K To Settle Claims Over Ineligible Bidding

    California-based GS Foods Group Inc. has agreed to pay the federal government nearly $950,000 to resolve claims it bid on contracts reserved for small businesses, despite not qualifying as a small business, in violation of the False Claims Act.

  • January 29, 2025

    4th Circ. Mulls If Tossing No-Poach Suit Rewards Bad Behavior

    As the Fourth Circuit mulled the idea of reviving a proposed class action accusing military shipbuilding contractors of agreeing not to poach each other's engineers, one judge rebuffed the idea that the suit had no legs because there were no specific allegations of fraudulent concealment.

  • January 29, 2025

    Gov't Contractors Want More Clarity On Trump Orders

    Vague requirements in Trump administration orders affecting federal spending and differing implementations in related agency directives have left federal contractors confused and seeking more clarity from the government, a contractor industry group said Wednesday.

  • January 29, 2025

    Lab Co-Owner Gets 9 Years For $369M COVID Testing Scheme

    The co-owner of a California medical laboratory was sentenced to nine years in prison after being accused of conspiring to defraud Medicare and private insurers out of $369 million by submitting claims for medically unnecessary tests during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

  • January 29, 2025

    EPA Can't Invoke Immunity In Flint Water Crisis Suit

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not entitled to a government immunity defense in a lawsuit filed by Flint, Michigan, residents who claim it failed to take proper action during a lead-tainted drinking water crisis, a federal judge has said.

  • January 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Ax Of Patent Atty's Allergan FCA Fight

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a patent attorney's False Claims Act lawsuit alleging Allergan and Adamas Pharma fraudulently obtained patents to block generic competition for two Alzheimer's drugs, finding the information he disclosed was already publicly available and so his FCA claims are barred.

  • January 29, 2025

    4 Questions About Trump's Federal Worker Resignation Policy

    President Donald Trump’s offer of letting federal workers resign with several months of paid administrative leave raises questions about its legality and whether workers will actually get paid, attorneys said. Here, Law360 explores four questions that stem from the policy.

  • January 29, 2025

    India Asks High Court To Nix $1.3B Telecom Award

    The Republic of India urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Ninth Circuit order that refused to enforce a $1.3 billion arbitral award against the commercial arm of its space agency, arguing that a lower court had baselessly said that India held control over the division.

  • January 29, 2025

    White House Rescinds Trump's Spending Freeze

    The White House on Wednesday rescinded a directive freezing federal funding, saying it wants to end litigation and confusion, but said the move will not end a review of spending to ensure compliance with a series of executive orders by the president.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trump Tells Federal Workers They're Welcome To Resign

    The Trump administration on Tuesday emailed about 2 million federal employees offering them the option to resign but continue to be paid to the end of September, in an effort to implement a campaign promise to drastically cut the federal workforce and only keep employees who are "loyal" and "trustworthy."

  • January 28, 2025

    Boeing Supplier Seeks $583K Fees In Texas Biz Records Suit

    A Boeing supplier, Spirit AeroSystems Inc., has asked a federal judge to approve over $583,000 in legal fees after it won a bid to shut down attempts by Texas state officials to examine its business records.

  • January 28, 2025

    4th Circ. Raises Questions Over Health Data Access Order

    A Fourth Circuit panel focused Tuesday on whether an exception to federal law barring electronic health record companies from blocking the exchange of patient data applies to a request from Real Time Medical Systems to access nursing home data from PointClickCare.

  • January 28, 2025

    Trump Wants 'Iron Dome' Missile Defense System For US

    President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to create an "Iron Dome" defense system to protect against ballistic missiles and other advanced aerial threats, saying those weapons pose the "most catastrophic threat" to the U.S.

  • January 28, 2025

    Nestle Plant Can Switch Power Providers, Ga. Justices Rule

    The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled Tuesday that Nestle should have been allowed to switch electricity providers from Georgia Power to Walton EMC after renovating a former warehouse facility in Hartwell, Georgia. 

  • January 28, 2025

    'Right To Hug' Case In Michigan Draws ACLU Support

    The American Civil Liberties Union and 15 other organizations urged a Michigan appeals court to hold that children have a right to in-person visits with their incarcerated parents, describing in a friend-of-the-court brief the long-lasting psychological effects of isolating child from parent.

  • January 28, 2025

    Biz Groups Seek To Defend Embattled DOT Diversity Program

    Women- and minority-owned businesses and advocacy groups asked a Kentucky federal judge to let them intervene against litigation aimed at ending the U.S. Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, saying the government is unlikely to defend it with President Donald Trump in office.

  • January 28, 2025

    Senate Confirms Sean Duffy As DOT Secretary

    The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

  • January 28, 2025

    Judge Temporarily Halts Trump's Funding Freeze

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal spending that was set to go into effect at 5 p.m., as a group of nearly two dozen attorneys general filed a separate case challenging what they described as an illegal and potentially catastrophic move.

  • January 28, 2025

    DOD Raises Propulsion Program Contract Ceiling To $3.5B

    The U.S. Air Force modified two contracts previously awarded to GE Edison Works and Pratt & Whitney to develop engines intended to be used in its next-generation fighter jets, boosting the contract ceiling from $975 million to $3.5 billion.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges

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    The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.

  • A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President

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    For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • 11 Patent Cases To Watch At Fed. Circ. And High Court

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    As we head into fall, there are 11 patent cases to monitor, touching on a range of issues that could affect patent strategy, such as biotech innovation, administrative rulemaking and patent eligibility, say Edward Lanquist and Wesley Barbee at Baker Donelson.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Rule Of Two, Post Award, Cost Request

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    In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines three recent decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, offering distinct reminders for contractors challenging solicitations while an agency takes corrective action, pursuing post-award bid protests and filing timely cost reimbursement requests.

  • ESA Ruling May Jeopardize Gulf Of Mexico Drilling Operations

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    A Maryland federal court's recent decision in Sierra Club v. National Marine Fisheries Service, vacating key Endangered Species Act analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, may create a gap in guidance that could expose operators to enforcement risk and even criminal liability, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Avoiding Corporate Political Activity Pitfalls This Election Year

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    As Election Day approaches, corporate counsel should be mindful of the complicated rules around companies engaging in political activities, including super PAC contributions, pay-to-play prohibitions and foreign agent restrictions, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Navigating Cybersecurity Rule Changes For Gov't Contractors

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As federal contractors evaluate the security of their IT systems, they should keep in mind numerous changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement recently promulgated to meet new cyber threats, says William Stowe at KBR.

  • How Fund Advisers Can Limit Election Year Pay-To-Play Risks

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    With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now the Democratic candidate for vice president, politically active investment advisers should take practical steps to avoid triggering strict pay-to-play rules that can lead to fund managers facing mutli-year timeouts from working with public funds after contributing to sitting officials, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

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