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Ban on Contractor Political Contributions Upheld

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 07.13.15

In Wagner v. FEC (July 7, 2015), the D.C. Circuit upheld the seventy-five-year-old ban on political donations by individual contractors to federal candidates and political parties. Despite the First Amendment and equal protection arguments the plaintiffs raised, the court held that the compelling interests that support the contribution ban – protection against quid pro quo corruption and defense of merit-based public administration – are "neither theoretical nor antiquated, but rather are grounded in unhappy experience stretching to the present day."


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Client Alert | 7 min read | 10.27.26

New Developments in DOJ Whistleblower Policies and HHS Disclosures: Key Takeaways for General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officers, and Boards

On October 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Fraud Enforcement Division announced a new whistleblower rewards initiative, the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP). Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald issued a directive earlier this month directing Division leadership to design and implement policies and programs that incentivize whistleblowers to bring forward credible information pertaining to fraud. The new WHIP incentive pays awards of $10,000 to $30,000 for qualifying tips at or around the time criminal charges are filed or unsealed, rather than years later at case resolution....