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Catherine O. Shames

Associate

Overview

Catherine O. Shames is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Crowell & Moring, where she is a member of the firm’s Government Contracts Group. 

Catherine’s government contracts practice focuses on contract claims/disputes under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), prime-sub disputes, transactional due diligence, internal investigations, and disclosures under the Mandatory Disclosure Rule. She also assists contractors with cost allowability issues and responding to DCAA audits.

Catherine is active in pro bono matters. She has represented low-income individuals in contested custody disputes and in housing disputes against landlords to remediate unsafe housing conditions.

During law school, Catherine interned for the Honorable Lydia Kay Griggsby at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Catherine also completed U.S. Department of Justice internships with the Office of the Pardon Attorney, the Tax Division, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section.

Prior to law school, Catherine was a legal analyst at the nation’s largest military shipbuilding company where she gained valuable government contract experience.

Career & Education

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    • Randolph-Macon Woman's College, B.A.
    • Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy, M.P.P.
    • College of William & Mary, Mason School of Business, M.B.A.
    • College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law, J.D.
    • Randolph-Macon Woman's College, B.A.
    • Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy, M.P.P.
    • College of William & Mary, Mason School of Business, M.B.A.
    • College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law, J.D.
    • District of Columbia
    • Virginia
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
    • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
    • District of Columbia
    • Virginia
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
    • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia

Catherine's Insights

Client Alert | 2 min read | 02.22.24

Start the Clock: Government’s Indirect Cost Rate Claim Accrued upon Submission of Indirect Cost Rate Proposal

In Strategic Technology Institute, Inc. v. Sec’y of Def., 91 F.4th 1140 (Fed. Cir. 2024), the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), which held that the government’s 2018 claim was not time-barred by the Contract Dispute Act’s (CDA) six-year statute of limitations.  The ASBCA found that the government’s claim did not begin to accrue until 2014, the date the government received the contractor’s indirect cost rate proposals for fiscal year (FY) 2008 and FY 2009. ...

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Catherine's Insights

Client Alert | 2 min read | 02.22.24

Start the Clock: Government’s Indirect Cost Rate Claim Accrued upon Submission of Indirect Cost Rate Proposal

In Strategic Technology Institute, Inc. v. Sec’y of Def., 91 F.4th 1140 (Fed. Cir. 2024), the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), which held that the government’s 2018 claim was not time-barred by the Contract Dispute Act’s (CDA) six-year statute of limitations.  The ASBCA found that the government’s claim did not begin to accrue until 2014, the date the government received the contractor’s indirect cost rate proposals for fiscal year (FY) 2008 and FY 2009. ...