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

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

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

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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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Calendar of Events


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Section News

Government Contracts Section Newsletter

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Recent Events

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.

 4-21-09

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.


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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.



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Articles of Interest

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!

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