Government Contract Investigations

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Government Contract Investigations

Offering solutions to the unique challenges of investigations involving government contracts.

Government and internal investigations related to government contracts present unique challenges, due to the complex regulatory regimes for doing business with the US government. We leverage our firm’s market-leading Government Contracts, White Collar Defense and Investigations and False Claims Act practices to help our clients navigate high-stakes inquiries while protecting their valued customer relationships.

For more than 20 years, we have advised clients on many of the most notable investigations into alleged impropriety in government contracting. These investigations, involving billions of government contracting dollars, have implicated numerous laws and regulations—including the False Claims Act, the Procurement Integrity Act, the Truth in Negotiations Act, the Anti-Kickback Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, the US government’s Standards of Ethical Conduct, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Regulations, and the US government’s Cost Accounting Standards—as well as other issues concerning contractual performance, subcontracting, training accidents and terrorist attacks. We have conducted sensitive investigations in some of the most politically and logistically challenging environments in the world.

We have assisted clients in responding to government subpoenas, whistleblower complaints, and inquiries from contracting officers, inspectors general, auditors and Congress. We have successfully resolved matters—mitigating legal risk, disruption to business operations, and damage to customer relations—through effective advocacy, voluntary and mandatory disclosures, negotiated settlements, and government proceedings, including suspension and debarment proceedings.

Our team has decades of experience and includes lawyers who have worked at the highest levels of government, such as a former General Counsel of the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, several former senior Department of Justice attorneys and prosecutors, a former General Counsel to the Director of National Intelligence, and a former General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Key Contacts

Meet Our Team

WilmerHale on Government Contract Investigations

Publication

WilmerHale Recognized as a Government Contracts Practice Group of the Year by Law360

Recognition

Experience

  • Represented a major defense contractor in parallel False Claims Act and criminal investigations by the Department of Justice into allegations related to procurement integrity and other violations, including bribery and price fixing, arising out of the procurement and performance of large government contracts over several years.
  • Represented a top defense contractor in parallel False Claims Act and criminal investigations by the Department of Justice related to bidding, financial reporting and accounting practices.
  • Represented a market-leading company in parallel civil and criminal False Claims Act investigations by the Department of Justice, congressional inquiries and hearings, and Department of Defense inquiries, and also conducted a related internal investigation.
  • Conducted international internal investigations implicating the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other issues for a major defense contractor.
  • Represented a leading engineering and construction company in a False Claims Act investigation by the Department of Justice related to a Department of Defense contract.
  • Traveled to Afghanistan to conduct an internal investigation for a major contractor involving an Army contract for construction and other services in Afghanistan. Litigated appellant contractor’s claim before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, culminating in a favorable mediation result.
  • Represented a foreign software company in civil litigation against the United States arising from the Navy’s unauthorized copying of the company’s software.
  • Represented a major defense contractor in a Department of Justice investigation related to labor mapping in connection with a Department of Defense contract.
  • Represented a major defense contractor in a suit alleging that the contractor fraudulently concealed defects in the equipment it manufactured for the military.
  • Represented a major defense contractor in a False Claims Act investigation by the Department of Justice related to armored vehicles used in Iraq.
  • Represented a joint venture contracted by the Department of Energy in a suit involving matters related to the acquisition of commercial products and services, the GSA Schedule, the Anti-Kickback Act, and the False Claims Act.
  • Represented a titanium supplier in a Defense Criminal Investigative Service inquiry regarding alleged non-conformance with technical specifications in the aerospace metal supply chain.
  • 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, and represented the company in a subsequent False Claims Act investigation by the Department of Justice.
  • Represented a leading telecommunications company in a Department of Justice and Department of Defense Inspector General investigation of an Army contract pertaining to a complex telecommunications system in Iraq.
  • Represented a medical device manufacturer in an investigation and related debarment proceeding by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and a US Attorney’s Office arising from the sale of allegedly defective medical devices to the Army.
  • Conducted internal investigations and liaised with a broad range of government stakeholders on behalf of a major defense contractor on matters related to the handling of sensitive government information.
  • Conducted internal investigations for multiple defense and aerospace firms concerning compliance with hiring and post–government employment restrictions involving former senior Department of Defense officials.
  • Represented a major systems integrator in an Inspector General investigation involving suspected counterfeit parts, which was successfully concluded without action.

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