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Practice Areas :
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
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Government Investigations and Litigation
Patton Boggs handles a myriad of government litigation and investigation matters, including all aspects of criminal matters, investigations conducted by government agencies and/or Congress, litigation in the courts (or before administrative tribunals) regarding regulatory or administrative matters, and litigation of commercial disputes involving the government.
Our attorneys bring extensive experience and insight, as more than 100 have served in government positions at the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the criminal and civil divisions of various U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, other federal agencies, congressional investigative committees, and state offices with investigative and litigation responsibilities. Typical undertakings involve:
White-Collar Criminal Matters
We tackle a wide variety of white-collar criminal matters throughout the United States. Our partners include a former U.S. Attorney, several former Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and veterans of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, the Public Defenders’ Office, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division. Some examples of our practice include:
- Represented White House official Karl Rove in the grand jury proceedings relating to the disclosure of Valerie Plame’s status as a CIA official. Following numerous appearances and submissions, Mr. Rove was not charged.
- Represented the former chief accounting officer of a public company who entered a guilty plea to obstruction charges related to the shredding of certain documents in connection with an accounting fraud investigation. Despite the government’s claim that the client should be held responsible for $130 million in losses, plus a pre-sentence report that recommended two and one-half years in prison, we persuaded the court to impose a 10-day local jail sentence plus probation, an especially difficult task to accomplish in today’s post-Enron environment.
Congressional and Administrative Investigations
We frequently assist clients who are summoned to appear in congressional investigations, working with members of our public policy team on matters such as:
- When gasoline prices spiked after Hurricane Katrina, we represented the president and other senior officials of a major energy company in multiple appearances before Senate and House committees, as well as state government agencies.
- Because of our expansive capabilities in congressional investigations, we often are retained by members of Congress in connection with campaign finance litigation and investigations, and in ethics investigations.
- Over the years, we have represented witnesses in major headline-making congressional investigations, from ABSCAM, Iran/Contra, Wedtech, the October Surprise, BCCI, and the savings and loans crisis to present-day investigations.
We also assist clients responding to subpoenas and other inquiries from virtually every one of the federal government agencies. On issues running the gamut across the “alphabet” federal agencies, we have first-hand experience in dealing with the agency’s lawyers and staff, and a track record of success.
On many occasions, Patton Boggs has been involved in simultaneous investigations pending before multiple branches of government agencies or other tribunals, nationally and internationally. We work with government agencies to find multiple, creative solutions to a client’s government disputes and devise suitable strategies for responding to investigations or resolving unique and difficult disputes.
Regulatory and Administrative Litigation
When agency investigations move to the courts, we have the experience to defend our clients. Our attorneys include veterans of 18 government agencies and departments, including the SEC, FTC, FDA, FDIC, OSHA, CFTC, FEC, EPA, and others. Recent examples include:
- Protected the trade secrets of a group of smokeless tobacco companies by convincing the First Circuit to invalidate, on constitutional grounds, a Massachusetts law requiring public disclosure of product ingredients. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed our contention that the mandated disclosure was an unconstitutional taking of property without just compensation.
- Filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 20 Members of Congress in Granholm v. Heald, addressing the constitutionality of state laws banning direct shipments by out-of-state wineries. Our brief argued that state laws prohibiting shipments by out-of-state wineries but permitting shipments by in-state wineries discriminate against interstate commerce and that Congress never expressed any intent to permit states to exercise their powers under the 21st Amendment to burden interstate commerce. The Court issued an opinion consistent with our arguments.
Fraud and False Claims Allegations
Clients who do business with the federal government can find themselves subject to investigation, civil suits, and prosecutions based on payments from or to a government agency. We have extensive proficiency, and a deep bench of experienced lawyers, in this area. Our partners include a former Assistant Director of the Fraud Section of the DOJ’s Commercial Litigation Branch, a former Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the U.S. Army, and numerous veterans of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, the JAG Corps, and government procurement agencies. For example:
- Defended a major energy company in connection with claimed underpayment of royalties on oil and gas produced from federal lands.
- Secured dismissal of a qui tam case alleging that a nursing home supplier submitted false claims by failing to credit Medicaid fully for returned and re-dispensed medication and by failing to handle returned pharmaceuticals in a manner consistent with state pharmacy regulations, resulting in the sale of adulterated medication to Medicaid. The dismissal was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Government Contract Disputes
In addition to handling procurement fraud issues, we handle all forms of government contract disputes, including bid protests, pre-award disputes, contract claims, and other matters. For example:
- Prevailed on behalf of 27 companies, primarily producers of brand-name food and household products, who were accused of failing to adhere to the “most favored customer” price warranty clause of their respective government contracts. The decision represented an important victory for companies selling products to the government for resale in commissaries (the military version of supermarkets), and it influences how all government agencies interpret and enforce their respective price warranty clauses.
- The Court of Federal Claims granted our client’s request for a permanent injunction preventing the Navy from awarding the contracts at issue to anyone other than our client, and denied the Navy’s and intervener’s cross-motions seeking to affirm the contracting officer’s rejection of our client’s bids.
Other Commercial Disputes with the Government
Patton Boggs litigates commercial disputes with the government that arise outside the Federal Acquisition Regulations.
- Before obtaining a $96.7 million judgment against the U.S. Government for breach of its contract to provide economically favorable regulation of a savings and loan acquired out of receivership, we defended the client in congressional and agency investigations into the acquisition, and obtained summary judgment dismissing the FDIC’s effort to rescind the acquisition based on alleged fraud.
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practice AREA BREAKING NEWS
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Mortgage Litigation Rises
June 23, 2010
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Patton Boggs Holds Press Conference in Prince William County Police Brutality Case
May 26, 2010
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Judge Rules Against Prince William County Police in Brutality, Case Moves Forward
May 25, 2010
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Patton Boggs Snares Senior Justice Fraud Prosecutor
May 17, 2010
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Top Litigator Returns to Patton Boggs
April 19, 2010
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ENERGY/ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ALERT: The SEC Issues Interpretive Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change
February 26, 2010
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Beware of the Metadata - Counsel to Counsel
November/December 2009
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Patton Boggs Scores Legal Victory for Broadcaster
December 22, 2009
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ENERGY/ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ALERT: EPA Issues Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases
December 16, 2009
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Latino Family Allege Prince William Police Used Excessive Force
December 8, 2009
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