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 | 06.12.26
DOJ Guidance Backs Away From Disparate Impact Liability
On June 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a formal opinion concluding that the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s (EEOC) existing interpretations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) disparate-impact liability, including the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), are unconstitutional. According to the opinion, EEOC’s prior interpretations contemplate liability based on disproportionately adverse effects alone, without regard to an employer’s likely intent, rather than treating disparate impact as an evidentiary mechanism to “smoke out” intentional discrimination. DOJ found that this approach functions as a “qualified racial-proportionality mandate” that places “a racial thumb on the scales, often requiring employers to evaluate the racial outcomes of their policies, and to make decisions based on (because of) those racial outcomes.” The opinion fulfills one mandate of Executive Order 14281, which rejected disparate-impact liability insofar as it “creates a near insurmountable presumption that unlawful discrimination exists wherever there are any differences in outcomes among different [demographic groups].”
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.12.26
Auto Dealers: The FTC Is Back in the Driver’s Seat — Warning Letters Signal Renewed Federal Scrutiny
Client Alert | 13 min read | 06.12.26
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.12.26
