Steve McBrady is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Crowell & Moring, where he serves on the firm's Finance and Strategic Growth Committees, and the Steering Committee of the Government Contracts Group.
In recent years, Steve has received the National Law Journal’s “Winning Litigator” award as a lawyer who has “tackled some of the most widely watched cases of the year,” the “D.C. Trailblazer” award, recognizing lawyers who have “made significant marks on the practice,” and was named “Government Contracts MVP” by Law360.
Experience
Steve leads the firm's Government-facing litigation practice and is one of the “go to” litigators nationally for disputes with the United States Government. He served as lead counsel for Maine Community Health Options at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Maine case, which held the United States responsible for $13 billion in damages as a result of its failure to pay health insurers under the Affordable Care Act, is a landmark decision in Tucker Act jurisprudence and the field of money-mandating statutes, and is among the largest civil judgments ever entered against the United States.
Steve has broad experience litigating cases before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the boards of contracts appeals (ASBCA, CBCA, PSBCA), and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as state and federal courts around the country. In 2019, his litigation teams won significant victories, including a $250 million contract dispute with the U.S. Government, and precedent-setting victories against the Government in contractual and statutory disputes. Steve is frequently called upon to resolve sensitive matters via alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including confidential arbitration and mediation, and has developed a reputation for resolving matters early in the dispute stage, identifying “win-win” legal and commercial resolutions.
“Naturally a good communicator, Steve is effective as a result of his strategic positioning and his appreciation for opposing viewpoints, countering them all the better based on his deep understanding of the subject matter at hand. Steve is well respected among his peers for good reason: he is superbly prepared and his arguments are rock solid.”
- Client CEO
In addition to his litigation practice, Steve serves as a strategic advisor to in-house counsel and corporate executives on high-stakes matters involving the U.S. Government, drawing on two decades of experience in Washington. To that end, clients in the defense, health care, energy, manufacturing, and technology sectors regularly seek his advice on a wide range of public sector issues, including complex litigation and internal investigations, due diligence in support of M&A transactions, ethics and compliance counseling, and government audits.
Steve regularly speaks at government and industry events around the country, and provides on-site training to legal and executive teams on a range of topics. His legal commentary on government-facing issues has been featured in the New York Times and various other print, radio, and television media.
Steve previously served as vice chair of the firm's Recruiting Committee, and is an active sponsor of young and diverse attorneys throughout the law firm. His focus on client service has earned numerous awards over the years, including the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll.