DOJ Antitrust “Strike Force” Will Crack Down on Collusive Bidding and Procurement Fraud

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On November 5, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the formation of a new Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) to prosecute collusive bidding and procurement fraud in government contracting. According to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, the PCSF “will target bid-rigging and other antitrust crimes that can cost American taxpayers billions of dollars each year by undermining the federal government’s processes for purchasing goods and services and for money granted to states and municipalities to undertake large, high-dollar-figure public improvement projects.” The PCSF will [...]Read more

Government Contracts Team Serves As Specialty Counsel in $1.365 Billion M&A Deal

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On July 30, 2019, BBA Aviation plc, a market-leading provider of global aviation support and aftermarket services, announced an agreement to sell their Ontic business, a division providing high-quality, OEM-licensed parts for legacy military and aerospace platforms, to CVC Fund Vll, for $1.365 billion. Alston & Bird’s Government Contracts team served as specialty counsel to CVC, a UK-based private equity firm. Completion of the sale is expected in Q4 2019. Press about the sale can be found here.  The Alston & Bird attorneys who represented the buyer were Jeff Belkin,  Katherine [...]Read more

Jeniffer Roberts and Katherine Veeder Published in Law360: “Government Contractor Compliance: 1 Size Can’t Fit All”

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Alston & Bird partner Jeniffer Roberts and senior associate Katherine Veeder were published in Law360 on June 17, 2019 with their article, “Government Contractor Compliance: 1 Size Can’t Fit All”, on how government contractors can develop a comprehensive program for facilitating compliance with regulations at the federal, state and local levels. The article provides examples of conflicting requirements in the regulatory landscape and best practices for designing compliance programs that span doing business with federal, state, and local U.S. government entities. Read the full article here. [...]Read more

DOJ Affirms Cooperation Principles in Government Contract Fraud Investigations

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Those of us who have had more than a few discussions with the Civil Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the years about federal procurement and grant fraud have come away with a clear enough understanding of a few basic principles of cooperation. First, while it is cliché to say that the “multiple” on single damages that the DOJ might demand in settlement of a civil False Claims Act (FCA) case varies depending on the circumstances, the general understanding is that if a defendant settles at or before the time the DOJ must file its complaint, then the DOJ may be more willing [...]Read more

Alston & Bird Construction & Government Contracts Group Honored by Chambers USA

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We are excited to announce that our Government Contracts Group has earned recognition in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. We are also proud of our Construction colleagues, some of whom focus on public construction. Government Contracts Nationwide: Recognized Practitioner Construction California: Band 3 Georgia: Band 2 The groups had a total of eight individuals recognized, including Jeff Belkin, Debbie Cazan, John Hanover, Bill Hughes, Mike Shanlever, Jessica Sharron, John Spangler, and Chris Roux. We are proud of our recognition, [...]Read more

Alston & Bird Partner Jeniffer Roberts Appointed to Law360’s 2019 Government Contracts Editorial Advisory Board

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We are excited to announce that Law360 appointed Alston & Bird Government Contracts partner Jeniffer M. De Jesus Roberts to its 2019 Government Contracts Editorial Advisory Board. The appointment is a testament to Jeniffer’s keen insight into, and understanding of, the key issues that government contractors face on a day-to-day basis. Jeniffer will help guide Law360’s coverage to include the news that matters most to our government contracts clients. In this role, Jeniffer will utilize her vast knowledge and expertise in the field of government contracting as well as the experience gained [...]Read more

Wrapping Up Another Great Year at the Thomson Reuters Government Contracts Year-in-Review Conference

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The Alston & Bird Government Contracts team just wrapped up another fantastic year at the annual Thomson Reuters Government Contracts Year-in-Review Conference in Washington, D.C. this week.  Despite a brief snow interlude, foreign to Alston & Bird’s Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta-based members but all too familiar to its D.C.-based team, the conference was a four-day whirlwind through the latest developments in regulatory, bid protest, and dispute issues applicable to government contractors. Of the most interesting developments discussed this year were the Kaspersky Ban, [...]Read more

Alston & Bird Team Headed to D.C. for the Thomson Reuters Government Contracts Year-in-Review Conference

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The Alston & Bird Government Contracts team is excited to be at the annual Thomson Reuters Government Contracts Year-in-Review Conference in Washington, D.C. this week.  The conference is being held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel which, for the next four days, will be the epicenter of government contracts discussions and debates. There will be hundreds of attorneys, executives, and government officials participating in expert briefings on the past year’s legal developments affecting government contracts.  This week will prove to be an excellent opportunity to connect with colleagues, clients, [...]Read more

Will DOJ’s False Claims Act ‘Voluntary’ Dismissals Accelerate Under Attorney General Barr?

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It has been a few months since the 2015 “Yates Memo” was updated by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s announcement in late November 2018, as reflected by our colleagues in our White Collar Group.  While the principles behind the earlier policy were laudable – objectionable behavior will be deterred better when individual managers are at risk of criminal liability and financial ruin – the revised policy may not have had a sufficient time “in force” to result in actual behavioral modification.  At least from our vantage point of the government contracts industry.  Keep in [...]Read more

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS BEWARE! New Definition of “Recruitment Fees” Clarifies What Constitutes Human Trafficking-Related Activities – And It May Not Be What You Think

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Can requiring that a job applicant obtain and pay for a passport photo make a U.S. government contractor run afoul of human trafficking rules? Potentially “yes” under a new final rule clarifying what constitutes human trafficking under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”). Since 2015, the U.S. government has prohibited U.S. government contractors from engaging in human trafficking, including charging employees “recruitment fees,” via FAR 52.222-50. Previously, the U.S. government’s prohibition lacked a definition for the term “recruitment fees.” To provide clarity and [...]Read more