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In the 10th edition of the “OIG Shorts” series, Sheppard Mullin’s Organizational Integrity Group continued its exploration of a number of complex compliance matters with a discussion on Setting the Table for Good Decision-Making: And Making Sure the Chief Legal Officer Has a Seat at It. This post discusses why it’s important that Chief Legal Officers and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officers have meaningful, real-time involvement in the key legal, organizational, reputational, and business discussions/decisions of their companies, as well as direct access to the Chief Executive Officer and the Board.Continue Reading Organizational Integrity Shorts: A Seat at the Table

By Louis Victorino and Jonathan Aronie (originally published in the San Diego Business Journal)

It has been noted, the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the world of Government Contracts Law, however, the more things change, the more the phone rings. And while we’re only a few weeks into 2013, the phone has been ringing off the hook. Here are a few of the reasons why.Continue Reading What Does 2013 Have In Store for Government Contractors and Their Lawyers?

As we discussed here last November, the United States Navy, the other military services, and the Department of Defense, have all recognized that their personnel are using social media and have responded by establishing detailed social media policies.  Similarly, there is not a shred of doubt that your company’s employees are using social media. And, just like the military services and DoD, if you’re a government contractor then you must establish a social medial policy—and it cannot be a “cookie cutter” version of standard corporate social media policies. Among other things, it must address the risk of classified information being leaked, and the ways in which your employees’ security clearances can be put in jeopardy if they are not using social media prudently.
Continue Reading 10 Social Media Must Haves for Your Company’s FAR-Mandated Compliance Program

Following the publication of the FAR’s Mandatory Disclosure Rule in late 2008, the Public Contracts Section of the American Bar Association organized a Task Force of leading Government contracts attorneys, DOJ fraud lawyers, federal investigators, and other experts to consider the implications of the new requirements and to draft written guidance to fill the many gaps inherent in the Rule. Sheppard Mullin’s Jonathan Aronie served on the ABA Task Force.
 Continue Reading ABA Publishes Guide To Mandatory Disclosure Rule

Recently, contractors have begun receiving formal requests for information from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”). The purported purpose of these requests is to “[o]btain an understanding of the management control environment” of major government contractors. In pursuit of this goal, DCAA has crafted a letter that demands, among other things, the following:

  • A list of all ethics training, copies of agendas, and attendee lists
     
  • Copies of the company’s written Codes of Conduct, copies of the policies dealing with communications of the Code, and a list of employees who have acknowledged receiving the Code over the past 12 months
     
  • A list of all violations of the Code over the past 12 months
     
  • All “noncompliances” reported through the contractor’s internal control system (such as a hotline) within the past 12 months
     
  • A “company-wide list of any current open investigations”

Continue Reading What Exactly Is DCAA Thinking?

On May 29, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 ("FERA").[1] FERA implements a number of sweeping changes to the False Claims Act ("FCA"), including a provision that expands significantly the circumstances under which a contractor may be held liable under the so called "reverse false claims" theory.
 Continue Reading Render Unto Caesar What Is Caesar’s … Or Else: The Expansion of False Claims Act Liability to the Retention of Overpayments