Insights

Washington – May 6, 2020: The National Law Journal named Crowell & Moring to the 2020 Pro Bono Hot List, an annual list of the law firms and lawyers who “are dedicated to making a monumental impact on the lives of those in need.”

Washington – January 2, 2020: Crowell & Moring elected eight lawyers to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2020. The firm also promoted seven attorneys to the position of senior counsel, and 26 associates to the position of counsel. The new partners have been promoted from within the ranks of the firm’s Washington, Los Angeles, and San Francisco offices. The new partners have been promoted from across offices and practice groups, including White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement, Health Care, International Trade, Intellectual Property, Privacy & Cybersecurity, Government Contracts, Litigation, and Antitrust.

Washington – July 12, 2019:The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled this week that Baltimore’s practice of prohibiting plaintiffs who settle police misconduct cases from speaking about the events precipitating their cases, on pain of losing half their settlement proceeds, violates the First Amendment. The decision in Overbey v. Mayor of Baltimore holds that these non-disparagement clauses—essentially gag orders—are tantamount to the payment of “hush money” to keep victims quiet, and are unconstitutional and unenforceable. Overbey v. Mayor of Baltimore was brought by Ashley Overbey Underwood, a woman who was denied half of her settlement award after responding to negative online comments about her settlement, as had been reported in a local newspaper. After the City learned she had defended herself by describing her experience of being brutalized by Baltimore police, it withheld half her promised proceeds. Overbey was joined as a co-plaintiff in the case by the Baltimore Brew, a news organization that claimed it was denied its First Amendment right to obtain newsworthy public information from victims of police abuses.

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.

The Department of Defense (DoD) recently published a memorandum clarifying what it means for a cloud service provider (CSP) to be Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate baseline “equivalent” and meet incident reporting requirements under Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Clause 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting (DFARS 7012). The memorandum states, in order to be considered FedRAMP equivalent going forward, CSPs must (1) be FedRAMP Moderate/High-Authorized, or (2) secure a third-party assessment confirming their compliance with all FedRAMP Moderate baseline security controls.

On December 26, 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) released the highly anticipated proposed rule for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program (CMMC), a cybersecurity regulatory program that will likely impact most of the government contractor community. Every contractor who handles sensitive data such as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) or Federal Contract Information (FCI) during DoD contract performance will be covered by this regulation. While the CMMC program builds upon the security requirements included in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) clause 252.204-7012, CMMC will bring greater scrutiny to contractors’ cybersecurity compliance and potentially greater consequences for failure to comply in the era of the Department of Justice’s Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative and False Claims Act litigation. If finalized as proposed, the rule will significantly impact the CMMC regime, notably by requiring senior company officials to complete an affirmation for every CMMC level self-assessed or certified, thus increasing legal compliance risks.

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.

Like all other aspects of life, the COVID-19 global pandemic had a dramatic effect on False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement in 2020. Please join members of Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts and Healthcare Groups as they explore the most significant FCA developments across industries in this two-part webinar series.

Like all other aspects of life, the COVID-19 global pandemic had a dramatic effect on False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement in 2020. Please join members of Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts and Healthcare Groups as they explore the most significant FCA developments across industries in this two-part webinar series.

This special edition covers DoD’s proposed rule for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program, and is hosted by Peter Eyre, Michael Gruden, and Nkechi Kanu. Crowell & Moring's "Fastest 5 Minutes" is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.

Click below to listen or access from one of these links: PodBean | SoundCloud | Apple Podcasts

This week's episode covers Section 889, federal network security, and COVID fraud news and is hosted by partner Peter Eyre and counsel Nkechi Kanu. Crowell & Moring's "Fastest 5 Minutes" is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.