National Courts attorneys working on Contract Disputes and other Court of Federal Claims matters serve as the "U.S. Attorney" for the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  This includes contract cases arising under the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 and bid protest actions seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. 

Examples of our practice

Government Contracts and Commercial Litigation

National Courts attorneys litigate primarily before the Court of Federal Claims, handling a number of large, complex cases with significant legal issues and billions of tax-payer dollars at stake.  In the Winstar cases, plaintiffs seek over $30 billion in claimed damages resulting from the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA"), which eliminated questionable accounting practices allegedly guaranteed in long-term contracts with thrift regulators.  In July 1996, the Supreme Court held that the government was liable in three early cases, resulting in a tidal wave of litigation.  A case management order was adopted, and a dozen cases were slated for "priority" trials, with the remaining cases scheduled to be released for discovery in annual "waves" of 30 each.  National Courts attorneys handle all aspects of litigating these cases, including discovery, dispositive motions, trials, appeals, and settlements.

Appellate Practice

National Courts attorneys are responsible for handling appeals before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from decisions of the Court of Federal Claims, agency contract appeals boards, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, petitions for review of Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) decisions under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, and a limited number of appeals from Federal district courts.  In two MSPB appeals, for example, the Supreme Court sustained the authority of Federal agency managers to determine who should have access to classified information (Dept. of the Navy v. Egan), and to discipline Federal employees for lying to investigators (Erickson v. United States).