Terry L. Albertson is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Crowell & Moring. He focuses on government procurement law. He received a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, magna cum laude, in 1968, a master’s from Yale University in 1969, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1974. He is a member of the bars of the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia. He served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971 and was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam.
Mr. Albertson’s practice focuses particularly on issues related to government contract cost, accounting, pricing, and termination issues. He represents contractors regularly at the various Boards of Contract Appeals and the Court of Federal Claims. He has tried a number of important cases concerning defective pricing, the Cost Accounting Standards, the allowability of costs, multiple award contracts, and terminations. He counsels contractors and participates in internal reviews and litigation about allegations of fraud, and has been involved in planning significant corporate mergers, divestitures, and reorganizations.
On compensation issues, he has defended contractors against allegations that the compensation paid to secretaries and other non-exempt salaried employees was unreasonable, that "lump sum" payments in lieu of wage increases were unallowable, that certain employee relocation costs were unallowable, and that bonuses were unallowable. He has participated in negotiation and litigation concerning a number of cases involving pension costs, other post-retirement benefits, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). He litigated a major case concerning the allowability of the costs of corporate aircraft. He represented a client successfully in a request under Public Law 85-804 for about $96 million in relief concerning post-retirement medical benefits for retired employees of an Army ammunition plant.
In addition to litigating the leading case defining what constitutes a "change in cost accounting practice," he has litigated important CAS cases concerning "desirable" accounting changes, the proper base for allocating indirect costs, pension plan terminations and "segment closings."
Mr. Albertson’s experience in False Claims Act investigations includes participation in the voluntary disclosure that led to the creation of the DoD voluntary disclosure program, litigation concerning foreign whistle-blowers, and litigation in which two DCAA auditors filed qui tam litigation about issues raised in their own audit report.
Mr. Albertson is active in a number of trade and professional organizations. From 1981 to 1985 he served as the Chairman of the Committee on Accounting and Cost and Pricing of the Public Contract Section of the American Bar Association. He has written and lectured frequently on government procurement issues. In 2004, Mr. Albertson was selected by the Legal Times as one of the 12 leading government contract lawyers in Washington. He has also been named one of the top lawyers in government contracts by Chambers USA, as well as recognized by The Best Lawyers In America 2008 in the area of administrative law.