DOJ Advocates for Dismissal of False Claims Act Case, Urges SCOTUS Not to Clarify Escobar Materiality Standard

An amicus brief in an FCA suit indicates that the government is serious about applying the Granston Memo and invoking its statutory authority to dismiss cases. Our White Collar, Government & Internal Investigations and Health Care Litigation Groups discuss whether this is a sign that there will be more dismissals in the future.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement that its single most important white collar imperative is the prosecution of individuals raises the question of whether it even has jurisdiction to convict most individuals for federal mail and wire fraud offenses. This article discusses how the DOJ may face hurdles in individual wire fraud.

Following a February 18, 2020 blog post, Jeff Belkin, Mike Mortorano, and MJ Kim explain in Contract Management Magazine how a recent Federal Circuit decision and possible U.S. withdrawal from the World Trade Organization’s Government Procurement Agreement could impact existing procurement policies and supply chain decisions. Now with the sudden economic devastation brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Trump Administration’s next move is more important than ever. As the U.S. economy falters and stimulus bills are pushed out, the potential implications of withdrawing from the WTO [...]Read more

The post Is a Shakeup Still Imminent for U.S. Domestic Sourcing? appeared first on Alston & Bird Government Contracts Blog.

On October 24, the Government Contracts team at Alston & Bird hosted its inaugural briefing in Washington, D.C. discussing the latest developments and industry updates in the government contracts space.  Presenters included Jeff Belkin, Jeniffer Roberts, Jessica Sharron, Jeremy Silverman, Andy Howard, Mike Mortorano and Katherine Veeder. The topics addressed were a variety of industry developments and key areas that are particularly salient in the current GovCon market.  Jeremy Silverman and Jeniffer Roberts provided a valuable bridge between the GovCon world and the M&A market by [...]Read more

The post Alston & Bird 2018 GovCon Briefing and CLE: Washington, D.C. appeared first on Alston & Bird Government Contracts Blog.

On January 25, 2018, Jeff Belkin was quoted by Law360 in the article “FCA Memo No Proof of New DOJ Direction on Dismissals,” which covers a recently leaked memo from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) detailing when DOJ attorneys should ask to dismiss “meritless” qui tam False Claims Act cases. The article covers varying viewpoints about what the impact of the memo will be on future FCA cases. Many FCA defense attorneys have reacted positively, some saying that the memo does suggest a change in policy. Others have reservations and remain unconvinced of actual policy changes. In the article, [...]Read more

The post Jeff Belkin Quoted by Law360 on Leaked DOJ FCA Memo appeared first on Alston & Bird Government Contracts Blog.