Alston & Bird Government Contracts Blog

Jessica Sharron

Jessica Sharron

About Jessica Sharron

Jessica Sharron is a partner in the firm’s Construction and Government Contracts Groups. Jessica's practice focuses primarily in the specialized fields of government contracts and construction litigation.

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DoD Weighs In As Federal Contractors Search for Guidance on Implementation of Section 889 Part B

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To curb the threat of U.S. foreign adversaries gaining access to critical infrastructure and stealing sensitive information, Congress passed Section 889 ("Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment") as part of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”). There are two prohibitions in the statute, Part A and Part B.  Part A, which became effective on August 13, 2019, prohibits the government from “buying” certain “covered telecommunications equipment or services.” (NDAA Section 889(a)(1)(A)).  Part B, which is slated [...]Read more

In the Aftermath of the Granston Memo, the DOJ Addresses (Some of) Grassley’s Concerns

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As previously discussed in a Law360 article by Jeffrey Belkin and Michael Mortorano, the DOJ’s Granston memo, dated January 10, 2018, “advised DOJ attorneys that, in tandem with their decisions to decline intervention in qui tam suits, they should consider proactively seeking dismissal under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A).” On September 4, 2019, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) wrote to Attorney General William Barr expressing his concerns about the DOJ’s implementation of the Granston memo, a topic that we noted Grassley had previewed during Barr’s confirmation hearing. While recognizing [...]Read more

Fifth Circuit Ruling Shows Government’s Actions Are Key Under Escobar

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Government contractors continue to closely follow the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark False Claims Act decision in Universal Health v. U.S. ex rel Escobar. Most recently, in U.S. ex rel Harman v. Trinity Industries, the Fifth Circuit considered the heightened standard whistleblowers must meet under Escobar to prove materiality if the government continued to pay claims despite its knowledge of misconduct allegations. In Trinity Industries, Trinity, a manufacturing company and government contractor, appealed the denial of its motion for judgment as a matter of law. The underlying [...]Read more

Government Contractors May See Changes in Cybersecurity and IT Procurement

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On Monday, June 19, 2017, President Trump’s newly established American Technology Council met for the first time at the White House to begin discussions on modernizing government information technology (IT) systems. As President Trump reportedly stated during the meeting, “Our goal is to lead a sweeping transformation of the federal government’s technology that will deliver dramatically better services for citizens.… Government needs to catch up with the technology revolution.” Executives from companies such as Amazon, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Akamai, and Microsoft were in attendance. When [...]Read more

GAO Report on Government Contracting Finds Overall Decrease from 2011-2015 and Most Obligations on Service Contracts

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Every year, billions of dollars in products and services are needed to keep running the U.S. federal government’s 18 cabinet-level departments and nearly 100 other independent agencies. In March 2017, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released results of its one-year audit of the government’s contracts between fiscal years 2011 and 2015 (including its fixed price, cost-reimbursement, and time-and-materials/labor hour contracts). Overall, GAO’s report shows a 24 percent decrease in government-wide contracting in FY 2015 from FY 2011 levels (a drop of approximately $438 billion), with [...]Read more