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Report Highlights Problematic Katrina Contracting Practices

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 02.28.06

The final report of The House Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina (http://katrina.house.gov/) criticizes all levels of government for using problematic contracting practices, such as orally changing the scope of work in the middle of an engagement and awarding most contracts on a sole-source basis or pursuant to limited competition. Among other proposed reforms, the Committee recommends that the Government enter into contracts in advance of each hurricane season to avoid the chaos and potential for fraud and abuse associated with contracting under intense pressure.

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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....