In the world of government contracts, there is no doubt that an ounce of prevention can save many pounds—and dollars—down the road. While it is always a challenge to find the right balance when allocating your limited resources, we believe that our clients are best served when we help them identify the most critical compliance issues well before they become either a crisis or government-enforcement topic. Whether it is working with in-house counsel, the chief administrative officer, marketing team, or human resources, the lawyers in the Government Contracts Group at Alston & Bird work efficiently to help our clients invest in systems and programs that will maximize revenue and minimize risk and loss. Examples of our assistance in the realm of compliance and ethics programs include:
- Served as outside government contracts counsel to large multinational companies in a wide range of industries, including aerospace and defense, information technology, security, health care, energy, and cable and telecommunications, assisting with all aspects of government contracting, including compliance with government contracting laws and regulations.
- Conducted third-party reviews and assessments of existing government contracts compliance and ethics programs, including for multiple Fortune 500 companies, helping clients to identify gaps and recommend and implement enhancements to existing programs, allowing for scalable compliance and ethics programs to support organic and inorganic business growth.
- Developed state-of-the-art government contractor compliance and ethics programs for both new entrants into the government marketplace and experienced contractors, tailored to the contractors’ size, business, and risks. This includes the development of new government-contracting-specific policies and procedures, training and awareness programs, and monitoring, auditing, and response frameworks—all designed to withstand government scrutiny.
- Counseled clients (both legal and business teams) on all legal issues relating to U.S. federal, state and local, and international government contracting matters, including advising on topics such as contract administration issues, cost compliance, commercial item contracting, and GSA schedule contracting.
- Drafted and negotiated agreements with and between commercial entities (including teaming agreements, professional services agreements, subcontracts, joint-venture agreements, and licensing agreements), including negotiating and drafting complex clauses such as most-favored-customer provisions, data rights clauses, limitation of liability, indemnification, data protection (cybersecurity) clauses, licensing, special security clauses, and conflict of interest mitigation plans.