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WMATA OIG Announces Partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force

Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.20.20

On February 18, 2020, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Inspector General Geoffrey A. Cherrington announced a partnership between WMATA Office of Inspector General special agents and the Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).

This new law enforcement partnership underscores the PCSF’s willingness to team up with state and local agencies to aggressively pursue allegations of procurement fraud and prosecute any wrongdoing. It is important that government contractors of all sizes and in all industries ensure they have the appropriate antitrust protections in place, and that they conduct routine training for all employees involved in the procurement process.

WMATA recently launched a $15.5 billion capital improvement program at the beginning of FY 2020 with funding coming from state and local governments in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, as well as federal grants. Through the program WMATA will purchase new railcars and buses and make other investments in infrastructure and equipment over the next ten years. These projects will provide many business opportunities for government contractors and they will also create a local area of focus for the WMATA-DOJ team.

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Client Alert | 2 min read | 06.12.25

IPR May Be Discretionarily Denied Because of “Settled Expectations” Where Petitioner Has Long Known of Challenged Patent

Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart issued a Director Discretionary decision on June 6, 2025, in iRhythm Technologies Inc. v. Welch Allyn Inc., IPR2025-00363, -00374, -00376, -00377, and -00378 Paper 10 (PTAB June 6, 2025). This decision granted Patent Owner’s request for discretionary denials of institution in five related IPR challenges.  It follows several recent Director decisions that have all discretionarily denied petitions for reasons other than the substantive merits of the challenges. However, this decision is the first one that relies upon “[s]ettled expectations of the parties, such as the length of time the claims have been in force,” a new consideration that was first articulated in the USPTO’s “Interim Process for PTAB Workload Management” memorandum (“Interim Memo”) dated March 26, 2025....

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