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Court Explores New Frontier On The OCI Front

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 10.17.07

In Axiom Resources Mgmt., Inc. v. U.S. (Sept. 28, 2007), the Court of Federal Claims held that an alleged unequal access to information organizational conflict of interest had not been adequately mitigated because, inter alia, the mitigation plan was not enforceable, as by court order. Also, before determining whether to issue an injunction, the court requested an amicus brief from the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition on several issues, including whether the awardee should be required to divest several contracts, and whether non-disclosure agreements, perhaps similar to those typically involved in establishing appropriate firewalls, unduly restrict future competition.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26

DOJ’s False Claims Act Resolution Against IBM Signals Heightened Risk for Federal Contractors with DEI Programs

On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded....