WilmerHale Offers One of the Premier Government Contract Disputes Practices in the Nation.

WilmerHale has a premier practice in the area of government contract claims, disputes, investigations and litigation, offering unparalleled depth and experience to government contractors and other clients doing business with the Federal government. Our team draws from the skills and experience of one of the most prominent regulatory practices in the country, with more than 100 lawyers who previously served in senior government positions, and many other lawyers with decades of experience with government contract-related controversies. WilmerHale blends the capabilities of these subject matter experts with a team of litigation and investigations lawyers who have handled some of the most complex and notable government contract-related disputes in recent years.

An American Lawyer “A-List” law firm recognized as a Top 20 firm in a recent survey of 240 general counsels across the nation, WilmerHale relies on the unique experiences of lawyers who were directly responsible for the litigation and settlement of major contract claims during periods of previous government service. Anchored by a former Deputy Attorney General of the United States (who also served as General Counsel of the Department of Defense) and a former Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Defense for Acquisition and Logistics (who supervised DoD’s resolution of contract disputes from 1999 to 2008), the WilmerHale team provides superior counseling across the full spectrum of government contract-related controversies.

We Resolve a Wide Range of Disputes Arising in the Pursuit or Performance of Government Contracts.

With 100 WilmerHale lawyers named in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America—including Jamie Gorelick’s selection in the area of “Bet-the-Company Litigation”— defense contractors and other federal government contractors have turned to WilmerHale for assistance with claims and disputes involving dozens of federal agencies and departments. Recently, we assisted clients resolve disputes with the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, and the various military departments, among others. In each instance, our seasoned lawyers pursued comprehensive, administrative resolutions that reduced the risk of suspension and debarment and otherwise minimized any potential collateral impact.

WilmerHale provides superior expertise across a wide range of issues inherent to government contracting. We advise clients on a host of ethics and compliance issues, including ethics in hiring, competitor proprietary data issues under the Procurement Integrity Act, gifts and gratuities, false certifications and false claims, the Anti-Kickback Act, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). We also assist with defective pricing, product warranties, quality assurance and testing requirements, domestic manufacturing statutes (including both the Buy American Act and the Trade Agreements Act), terminations for convenience and default, export control, environmental remediation, GSA schedule obligations (including most-favored customer and price-adjustment clauses), audit obligations, and small business issues. Our team also handles disputes involving improprieties in the award process, organizational conflicts of interest (OCI), intellectual property and data protection, technology transfer agreements, and industrial security issues.

WilmerHale’s Experienced Government Contract Litigators Handle Bid Protests, Claims, Court Litigation and Appeals with Equal Dexterity.

WilmerHale’s litigation engagements in the government contracts arena have ranged from basic government contract claims involving emerging companies to some of the most complex and prominent controversies involving the multi-billion dollar defense programs of our top-tier defense contractor clients. Known for being more than excellent counselors, WilmerHale lawyers are proven litigators. Our litigators have tried to verdict more than 75 complex civil cases since 2002. We have provided aggressive and creative advocacy across the broad spectrum of courts and forums where government contract disputes are litigated.

For over two decades, WilmerHale has initiated and defended bid protests over RFP selection criteria and the choice of a contractor, and have litigated numerous claims in front of the boards of contract appeals. And our team has grown stronger in 2009, with the addition of the former Deputy General Counsel of the Defense Department. Over the years, WilmerHale’s government contract litigators have become especially known for pursuing only the most fundamental arguments in bid protests. Although the "kitchen sink" approach remains the most common, our relentless adherence to the "key points" model has been far more successful – with a strong record of success on the merits, notwithstanding a far more cost-efficient methodology.

In addition to bid protests, WilmerHale represents clients in mediations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, government contract claims litigation in the US Court of Federal Claims and the Boards of Contract Appeals, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and federal court litigation among defense and other contractors involving government contract-related issues. We litigate trial-level proceedings with a deep understanding of how the issues will be viewed by the Federal Circuit. When the litigation moves to the federal courts of appeals, including the critical Federal Circuit, few firms match WilmerHale's capabilities and experience. Led by a former Solicitor General of the United States and recognized in Chambers USA 2009 among the premier appellate departments in the nation, our appellate lawyers have argued over 80 Federal Circuit appeals since 2001.

Our Investigations Practice in the Area of Procurement Fraud and False Claims Is Unmatched.

WilmerHale has advised defense industry leaders and other government contractors on some of the most notable investigations involving allegations of procurement fraud or other alleged impropriety in government contracting, such as our recent assistance to The Boeing Company on matters pertaining to the US Air Force KC-767 Tanker Program. We have conducted investigations involving civil fraud, export controls, conflicts of interest, domestic preference obligations, quality assurance and testing requirements, competitor proprietary data, and many other issues.

Our False Claims Act experience is particularly notable. WilmerHale leverages the experience of former Defense and Justice Department lawyers (including a dozen former prosecutors), who were directly responsible for the litigation, management and settlement of major FCA investigations and cases. By focusing on precedent-setting legal defenses, we have been able to obtain early dismissal or resolution of suits brought by qui tam plaintiffs and the government. And by conducting credible internal investigations and negotiating with the Department of Justice, we have helped clients to avoid criminal prosecution and to secure appropriate civil resolutions of parallel criminal, civil and administrative proceedings. For cases that go to trial, our courtroom advocates have tried and won FCA cases before juries.

WilmerHale’s Government Contract Disputes and Litigation Team Has Compiled a Substantial Record of Success Across a Wide Range of Controversies.

With a client base spanning industries, WilmerHale’s government contract disputes lawyers have handled an extensive assortment of significant matters, including the following:

• We represented one of the largest US defense contractors in a Federal Circuit appeal concerning privity rules in government contracting and the liability of the United States for subcontractor claims.
• We prevailed in a bid protest action on behalf of an incumbent IT contractor by obtaining a permanent injunction from the US Court of Federal Claims that enjoined the US Coast Guard from transferring work to a competitor via an improperly sole-sourced contract.
• We conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a top-tier defense contractor regarding allegations of conflict-of-interest-related impropriety on several multi-billion dollar defense programs.
• On behalf of a major provider of HR outsourcing services, we secured a rescission of a termination for default of a $290 million multi-year OPM information technology contract.
• We defended a top information technologies company in a DCAA audit involving compliance with a most-favored customer pricing clause in a GSA schedule contract.
• We represented a defense communications systems supplier in a protracted dispute with the US Navy and Department of Justice over claims for environmental remediation costs at a government-owned facility, resulting in a court-approved settlement.
• We advised an engineering services provider on potential pre-award bid protest of an agency’s preliminary finding of an “impaired objectivity” organizational conflict of interest (OCI).
• We pursued a major defense contractor’s breach of contract and fraud claims in federal court litigation alleging government contract accounting impropriety by the seller during a $200 million acquisition of a satellite communications government contracting business.
• We represented an aviation company in the Court of Federal Claims regarding its protest of a Defense Energy Supply Center award for air fueling services.
• We prevailed on summary judgment on the eve of trial in state court litigation involving the defense of a $100 million commercial damages claim alleging the improper exercise of fueling rights by an airport operator pursuant to government contracts with a local airport authority.
• On behalf of an international construction company, we pursued government contract claims arising from the denial of payment requests on account of alleged violations of domestic manufacturing requirements in a US Government-financed host country contract.
• We represented one of the top global express delivery companies in regulatory and associated federal court litigation arising from unsuccessful challenges by its two competitors to its right under federal statutes and regulations to do business in the United States.
• We defended a defense contractor in federal court litigation pertaining to the transfer of advanced weapons technologies under a technology transfer agreement.
• We secured a decision terminating debarment proceedings on behalf of an Air Force contractor, without an administrative agreement or any adverse action; we settled asserted civil fraud claim without admission of liability or payment of multiple damages or penalties; and we resolved a related contract dispute with a no-cost termination for convenience.
• We secured the dismissal on favorable terms of a qui tam FCA suit brought against a defense contractor and the company’s former CEO arising from the sale of allegedly defective products to the US Air Force.
• We represented a defense contractor before the US Army debarring authority in connection with claims involving the alleged delivery of defective products.
• We successfully defended the US Department of Labor’s award to our client of a fifty-million dollar federal financial management services contract against parallel fast-track bid protest proceedings in the Government Accountability Office and the US Court of Federal Claims.
• We resolved on favorable terms an investigation and related debarment proceeding of a medical device manufacturer by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and a US Attorney’s Office arising from the sale of allegedly defective medical devices to the US Army.
• On behalf of a telecommunications industry client, we persuaded the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals to reverse its previous ruling concerning our client’s classification under the Small Business Act.
• We represented a government contractor in a False Claims Act case alleging that the company failed to supply the General Services Administration with office products from permissible countries under the Buy American Act and Trade Agreements Act.
• We assisted a supplier of engineering support services with its successful challenge to unwarranted ratings by the Department of the Navy under the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).
• We litigated both pre-award and post-award protests before the Government Accountability Office concerning irregularities in the Department of Health and Human Services’ awarding of Head Start training and technical assistance contracts.