Insights

Washington – June 1, 2023: Crowell & Moring earned 82 rankings for 68 lawyers across 48 categories, as well as 37 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2023 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and lawyers at peer firms.

Washington – February 22, 2019: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that its Government Contracts Group has been recognized as one of Law360’s “Practice Groups of the Year” for government contracts. This is the ninth consecutive year that the group has earned this honor.

Washington – January 2, 2019: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that six of its Washington-based partners are included in the Washingtonian’s 2018 “Top Lawyers” list, featuring the D.C. area’s top legal talent.

2023 brought many important False Claims Act developments for companies with business involving government funds.  While overall recoveries remained down compared to pre-2022 levels, the total number of settlements and judgments exceeded any prior year.  Those settlements and judgments also highlight areas of particular focus for the Government, including cybersecurity compliance, pandemic fraud, and small business fraud, among others.  Of particular note, 2023 saw the U.S. Supreme Court issue decisions concerning the Government’s authority to dismiss qui tam actions and the critical element of scienter/knowledge that will have wide-reaching impact.  The courts of appeals also issued significant decisions on damages, materiality, and more.  Crowell attorneys discuss these highlights and others in a "Feature Comment" published in The Government Contractor.

On October 11, 2023, the Department of Justice announced a $9 million settlement with Victory Automotive Group Inc. (VAG) to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly providing false information in support of its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. This settlement is one of the larger ones to date related to receipt of a PPP loan and one of the first in which affiliation rendered a PPP borrower other than small.

A False Claims Act (FCA) settlement recently announced by the U.S. Department of Justice stands at the intersection of two evolving trends:  DOJ’s increasing focus on cybersecurity lapses by government contractors as part of its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, and DOJ policies incentivizing corporations to voluntarily self-disclose violations of federal law.

Crowell & Moring is pleased to announce the launch of our Government Contracts Breakfast Series. All of the sessions will be held in Northern Virginia and focus on issues most important to government contractors. Our January session is described below. When performing government contracts, contractors frequently experience performance challenges such as delays; increased performance costs attributable to government action; costs resulting from government-initiated contract termination; and costs of remediating certain environmental pollution and toxic tort litigation. Each of these add time or additional expense for which the government may have a legal obligation to pay. Join us as we discuss the process of filings claims and REAs, including a discussion of formal and informal dispute resolution under government contracts. We will provide a CLE certificate of attendance and other materials to use in seeking continuing education credits. Registration begins at 8:00 am.

Crowell & Moring is pleased to announce the launch of our Government Contracts Breakfast Series. All of the sessions will be held in Northern Virginia and focus on issues most important to government contractors. Our second session is described below.

Government spending cuts will mean cuts to your bottom line.  In this time of budget sequestration and programmatic uncertainties, it is more important than ever for contractors to quickly recognize and effectively respond to potentially costly contract changes. Join us for a practical discussion as we guide participants through several types of constructive changes, addressing the critical role for front-line personnel in recognizing changes, methods to ensure notice requirements are met, maintenance of proper documentation, and the use of cross-disciplinary teams to ensure impacts are evaluated correctly.  We will examine the preparation of contract claims and requests for equitable adjustment, as well as techniques to preserve agency relationships while still protecting the company from unjust losses.

Small business regulations and requirements can be perilous for small businesses and large companies alike. From certifications related to small business subcontracting goals to eligibility for set-aside procurements, and much more, civil and even criminal liability looms for those who intentionally break the rules, with the False Claims Act providing treble damages that in some cases can be measured as the entire value of a contract. In this webinar we will discuss enforcement trends and pitfalls for both small and large businesses to guard against.

Please Join Crowell & Moring for a Webinar on COVID-19 and the False Claims Act: What to Expect and How to Defend Investigations, Audits, and Qui Tam Actions in a Post-Pandemic World.

Crowell & Moring is offering a two-part webinar series for government contractors on past and anticipated developments in procurement statues and regulations concerning small businesses.  

In this episode, Jason Crawford, Brian Tully McLaughlin, and Agustin Orozco explore the issues before the Supreme Court in two consolidated cases involving the False Claims Act. The hosts discuss the April 18 oral argument in Schutte/Proctor where the question before the Justices is whether a defendant’s subjective knowledge about whether its conduct was legal is relevant to whether it “knowingly” submitted false claims.

In this episode, hosts Michael Shaheen and Tully McLaughlin cover part one of a discussion about the Department of Justice’s authority to dismiss qui tam complaints brought by relators.  The podcast: (1) outlines the government’s authority under the statute and the caselaw; (2) discusses how the Department of Justice wields that authority; and (3) describes the false controversy between the Department and Senator Grassley on the scope of that authority. "Let's Talk FCA" is Crowell & Moring’s podcast covering the latest developments with the False Claims Act.

In this episode, host Mana Lombardo and partner Tully McLaughlin discuss the top FCA decisions and developments of 2020 and look ahead to what’s in store in 2021 and beyond. "Let's Talk FCA" is Crowell & Moring’s podcast covering the latest developments with the False Claims Act.