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Private Party MEO Teammate Allowed Intervention To Protect Proprietary Information

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.14.06

In the protest of a contract award to the Government's Most Efficient Organization (MEO) in an A-76 public/private procurement, the COFC granted MEO private team member Lockheed Martin Services, Inc.'s motion to intervene as a matter of right for the limited purpose of protecting its trade secrets and proprietary data (Northrop Grumman Information Technology, Inc. v. United States). The MEO did not have legal representation separate from the awarding agency, and the COFC concluded that Lockheed's interests were not adequately represented by agency counsel in the context of an A-76 procurement in which agency counsel must "wear multiple hats at the same time" and where agency counsel admitted that the "most comfortable" hat is representing the Source Selection Authority.

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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....