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- Chair-Elect
Matthew J. McGrath
The McGrath Law Group, LLC.
5335 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
Suite 440
Washington, DC 20015
(202) 895-1715
mmcgrath@mjmcgrathlaw.com
- back to the top
1220 North Fillmore St.
Suite 444
Arlington, VA 22201
Officers
Chair
Michael A. Branca
Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
1133 21st Street, N.W.
Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 293-8815 ext. 7116
mbranca@pecklaw.com
Immediate
Past Chairs
Stacia Davis Le Blanc
Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP
2001 L Street, NW 2nd Fl
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 466-8960
sleblanc@ftlf.com
Jeffrey P. Hildebrant
Hildebrant & Associates
McLean, VA 22102
(703) 752-3740
jph@hildebrantlaw.com
Steven Briggerman
Seyfarth Shaw
Washington, D.C.
(202) 828-5388
briggerman@starpower.net
Jana Gagner
Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Department of Commerce
(301) 975-5035
jana@nist.gov
J. Michael Littlejohn
Wickwire Gavin PC
Vienna, Va.
(703) 790-8750
mlittlejohn@wickwire.com
Ralph Thomas III
Buchanan Ingersoll PC
Washington, D.C.
(202) 452-5472
thomasrc@bipc.com
David W. Burgett
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Washington, D.C.
(202) 637-6597
dwburgett@hhlaw.com
Richard P. Theis
U.S.Department of Justice
Washington, D.C.
(202) 338-8824
richard.p.theis@usdoj.gov
David Hazelton
Latham & Watkins
Washington, D.C.
(202) 637-2200
david.hazelton@lw.com
Linda Donaghy (ret.)
U.S.Department of Justice
Special Events/Federal
Procurement Policy
Leader Speaker Series
Jeffrey P. Hildebrant
Hildebrant & Associates
McLean, VA 22102
(703) 752-3740
jph@hildebrantlaw.com
Newsletter Editor
Carrol Kinsey Jr.
Van Scoyoc Kelly PLLC
Washington, D.C.
(202) 898-0406
ckinsey@vsklaw.com
Standing Committees
Bid Protests
John Tolle
Barton, Baker, McMahon, Hildebrant & Tolle LLP
McLean, VA
(703) 448-1810
jtolle@bbmtlaw.com
Contract Disputes
Michael A. Branca
Peckar, Abramson, Bastianelli & Kelly
Washington, DC
(202) 293-8815
mbranca@pecklaw.com
Homeland Security
Carmody A. Gaba
Customs & Border Patrol
Dept. Of Homeland Security
(202) 344-2972
carmody.gaba@dhs.gov
Small Business &
Socioeconomic Matters
Ralph Thomas III
Buchanan Ingersoll PC
Washington, D.C.
(202) 452-5472
thomasrc@bipc.com
Federal Grants
Edward Sharp
Jana Gagner
U.S. Department of Commerce
(301) 975-5035
EFSharp@JUNO.COM
jana@nist.gov
International Procurement
Matthew J. McGrath
The McGrath Law Group, LLC.
5335 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
Suite 440
Washington, DC 20015
(202) 895-1715
mmcgrath@mjmcgrathlaw.com
David W. Burgett
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Washington, D.C.
(202) 637-6597
dwburgett@hhlaw.com
Statutory/Regulatory Review
Richard Webber
Arent Fox
Washington, D.C.
(202) 857-6000
webberr@arentfox.com
Programs (West)
Jay Gallagher
McKenna Long & Aldrich
Los Angeles, CA
(213) 243-6165
jgallagher@mckennalong.com
Contents
A Message from the Section
Chair
Calendar of Events
Section
News
Recent Events
Committees
Opportunities
Articles of Interest
Helpful Links
A
Message from the Section Chair
As Section Chair, I would first and foremost continue the effort by past chair, Stacia LeBlanc, to add federal government attorneys to our ranks. I agree that one of our Section's strengths is the participation, and therefore the perspective, of attorneys working in the public sector. If this effort could be even more targeted, I would like to increase participation by government attorneys who litigate contracting issues on behalf of their agencies. A second goal would be to increase participation in the Section by current members. This will require, among other things, that we as a Section continue to offer programs and events that will inspire members to put their busy practices on hold and join their colleagues for a morning or afternoon of professional enrichment. Another strength of the Section is the number and vibrancy of the standing committees. I would, however, encourage the Section to produce and sponsor more programs for the Section as a whole - there is energy in numbers and this energy could be used to invigorate even greater future participation.
Michael Branca
Government Contracts Section Chair
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top
Government
Contracts Section Newsletter
January 8, 2009
Brown Bag Lunch: International Grants and Cooperative Agreements: You're Not in Kansas Anymore
featuring Harold L. Cohen, deputy assistant general counsel for democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development
Presented by the Government Contracts Section of the FBA
Time: Noon—1:30 p.m.
Location: Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis,
750 9th Street, NW, Suite 550 (corner of 9th and H),
Washington, D.C., 20001,
Closest Metro stop is Gallery Place.
Metro Center may also be convenient depending on where you are coming from.
Look for places nearby to pick up lunch on your way in or bring yourself a brown bag lunch.
FBA Sponsors "Ask a Lawyer" Panel at Grants Conference
The Federal Bar Association Government Contracts Section Federal Grants Committee hosted a presentation, Ask a Lawyer, a panel discussion on grants law issues, at the National Grants Management Association’s annual training conference, on April 21, 2009, in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. Featured as panelists:
Tom Armstrong of the U.S. Government Accountability Office; Peter Wathen-Dunn of the U.S. Department of Education; Stacia Le Blanc of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, a past FBA Government Contracts Section Chair; Jennifer Schwab, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These top attorneys shared their expertise and provided insight on grants law issues related to the Recovery Act, appropriations law, pre-award, post-award, audit, government-wide, program, financial, administrative, and other issues. FBA Grants Committee Co-Chair Jana Gagner moderated, long-time Committee member Ed Levin provided a Grants Law Year in Review, courtesy of Management Concepts, Inc., and Government Contracts Section Chair-Elect Matt McGrath assisted with proceedings.
Photo (l-r): Jana Gagner, U.S. Department of Commerce; Matt McGrath, McGrath Law Group LLC; Peter Wathen-Dunn, U.S. Department of Education; Stacia Le Blanc, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP; Jennifer Schwab, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Tom Armstrong, U.S. Government Accountability Office; and Ed Levin.
THE ALLISON ENGINE CASE AND THE FALSE CLAIMS ACT IN 2008:
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ATTORNEY ADDRESSES GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS SECTION & FEDERAL GRANTS COMMITTEE
The Federal Bar Association Government Contracts Section and its Federal Grants Committee held a brown bag lunch on Thursday, November 6, 2008 featuring Allie Pang, Trial Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, U.S. Department of Justice, on “The U.S. Supreme Court’s Allison Engine Decision and the False Claims Act in 2008,” at the law firm of Peckar & Abramson in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Pang returned to the Federal Bar Association to discuss the Supreme Court’s summer 2008 decision in Allison Engine Co., Inc. v. United States ex rel. Sanders,__U.S.__, 128 S.Ct. 2123 (2008), covering how this case and other recent False Claims Act issues could affect federal grantees, contractors, and recipients of federal funds.
She previously addressed the FBA Government Contracts Section and Federal Grants Committee in February 2008 and November 2005 on the implications of predecessor cases to Allison Engine. Conflicts among the circuits led to some confusion over the extent to which sub-tier parties must present a false claim directly to the government.
An opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts as an appellate court judge in a sharply divided situation led to growing concern in the grants and contracts communities over how the Supreme Court would address the lack of clarity.
Pictured, left to right, are: Mike Branca, attorney with Peckar & Abramson, FBA Government Contracts Section Chair; Allie Pang, U.S. Department of Justice; and Jana Gagner, U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel, FBA Federal Grants Committee Co-Chair.
Federal
Grants Committee
The FBA Government Contracts
Section’s Federal Grants Committee serves as a professional forum
for attorneys interested in legal issues arising in Federal assistance
programs.The committee sponsors a variety of programs, including a panel
presentation on a timely legal issue at the National Grants Management
Association’s annual training conferences. The committee also distributes
a list of cases of interest from the past year at this annual conference.
In addition, the committee sponsors an Internet listserv on grants law
matters, to which nonmembers may also subscribe. Each month the committee
also holds an informal “brown bag” luncheon meeting to discuss
committee business and legal cases and situations of interest.
Pictured in the photo:
Jana Gagner and past Grants Committee
Chair Edward Levin surround Malcolm Mason, age 94, "Dean of the Federal
Grants Bar," after he was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the FBA Grants Committee. Read more about Malcolm
Mason!
For further
information
To join the section and the committee, or for more information, contact
Co-chair Edward Sharp, at (301) 713-2175, or e-mail esharp@doc.gov.
You may also contact Co-chair Jana Gagner, (301) 975-5035, jana.gagner@nist.gov.
To join the listserv, send an e-mail to esharp@doc.gov, with a message stating your e-mail address and asking to join the listserv.
18USC 207(c)
Amendment Ensnares Majority of
Senior Executive Service Employees
By: Anthony J. Perfilio
Negotiating
Subcontracts For High Tech Small Businesses
By Ralph C. Thomas III
Related
Links
Acquisition Web site links
General Services Board of Contract
Appeals
GWU's
Government Contracts Web page
Hill AFB FAR
Prompt
Payment Act Interest Rates
PubKLaw.com
Doing business with Government Web sites
Department of
Homeland Security
Department
of Energy
Department of State
NASA
Department
of Defense
Department of Commerce
Department
of Treasury
Department of
Justice
Federal Aviation Administration
Department
of Transportation
Check
out more helpful links listed on the main FBA page!