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David Bodenheimer

Partner

David Bodenheimer is a litigator with over 35 years of hands-on experience in doing business with the federal government. Through his career, David has spent more than 100 days in the courtroom litigating contract disputes, False Claims Act (FCA) suits, default terminations, prime/sub disputes, and other actions involving complex military and aerospace systems, information technology, damages calculations and methodologies, and other government contracts disputes.

 

He has litigated more than 60 protests in every forum (GAO, COFC, ODRA, GSBCA, and federal district courts), with some of the best being successfully resolved without a decision – e.g., agency corrective action reopening the competitive range in a $6 billion procurement and resulting in award to a Fortune 25 company.  His reported decisions run the full gamut of protest issues.

 

Chambers USA ranks David nationally in Government Contracts and describes him as “an impressive government contracts practitioner” and “a fabulous writer.” He has found solutions for clients for everything from bet-the-company cases to the day-to-day complexities of government contracting.

 

With “considerable experience in defective pricing litigation” (Chambers), Mr. Bodenheimer handles a busy ASBCA docket of defective pricing and cost claims, DCAA audit allegations, and other disputes involving cost and pricing issues. He has been recognized in Chambers USA as “an exceptional costs and pricing attorney who is terrific with clients” and as “the top expert on defective pricing.”

 

Chambers also describes him as “a leading lawyer within the cybersecurity space” with “a strong practice in the cyber security area,” with over a decade of experience in advising government contractors, information technology (IT) businesses, and Fortune 500 companies on cybersecurity, privacy, and information law in the public sector.

 

David has also been recognized for his pro bono commitments, public service, and professional work.

 

Education

  • University of North Carolina, B.A.
  • University of North Carolina, M.B.A.
  • University of North Carolina Law School, J.D.

Bar and Court Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Courts for the District of Maryland
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Accolades

  • Chambers USA National Ranking in Government Contracts
  • Thomson Reuters DC Super Lawyer in Government Contracts
  • Fellows of the American Bar Foundation (nominations limited to top 1% of attorneys in each jurisdiction)
  • ABA Committee of the Year Award, Public Contracts Law, Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection Committee (2014-15)
  • Who’s Who Legal: Government Contracts, Information Technology, Data Security and Data Privacy
  • Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Service Honors, medals, and letters of appreciation for representing veterans before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
  • American Bar Association (ABA) Science & Technology Law (SciTech) Section Award for Increasing Diversity (2010)
  • ABA Past Leadership Positions: Chair, SciTech Section; SciTech Division Co-Chair (Security, Privacy, & Information Law); SciTech Committee Co-Chair (Homeland Security); Public Contract Law Section Committee Co-Chair (Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection); ABA President’s Cybersecurity Legal Task Force Representative
  • Government Contracts
  • False Claims Act
  • Litigation & Trial
  • Privacy & Cybersecurity
  • Investigations
  • Trade Secrets
  • Regulatory & Policy
  • Corporate Counseling, Governance & Compliance
  • Government Contracts Investigations
  • Digital Transformation
  • National Security

Defective Pricing & Cost Disputes

 

  • Recent Litigation. Litigated and resolved over $78 million in six ASBCA defective pricing and other cost claims over past five years, with Government recovering less than a penny on the dollar. See, e.g., Symetrics Indus., LLC, 15-1 BCA ¶ 36,070 (denying defective pricing claim).
  • Major TINA Precedent. Prevailed in the largest defective pricing claim litigated under the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA). See Wynne v. United Technologies Corp., 463 F.3d 1261 (Fed. Cir. 2006), affirming 05-1 BCA ¶ 32,860 (denying $299 million defective pricing claim after 33-day trial and Federal Circuit appeal).
  • Dispute Resolution. Employed creative techniques to resolve defective pricing and cost claims, employing mini-trials and other ADR techniques (ASBCA Nos. 56655 & 56656), preparing detailed rebuttals to TINA claims and audit allegations, and serving as lead Navy counsel in using structured negotiation process to resolve $126 million defective pricing allegation.
  • Publications. Authored what the Nash & Cibinic Report called “the definitive text on TINA” – the Defective Pricing Handbook (Thomson Reuters), as well as leading Briefing Papers and articles on defective pricing and the False Claims Act.
  • Training & Lectures. Taught Federal Publications Inc.’s leading course on defective pricing and the False Claims Act for over a decade, as well as many private TINA courses for major defense and aerospace contractors.

Protest Litigation

 

  • Organizational Conflicts of InterestAT&T Government Solutions, 2008 CPD ¶ 170 (precedent-setting case on contractor due process rights to prove OCI mitigation).
  • Technical EvaluationBAE Systems, 2013 CPD ¶ 278 (misevaluation of technical risk on NextGen airborne jammers); LIS, Inc., 2010 CPD ¶ 5 (misevaluation of small business firm’s technical excellence vs. technical acceptability).
  • Past PerformanceAl Raha Group for Technical Services, Inc., 2015 CPD ¶ 134 (past performance win in $110 award); Supreme Foodservice GmbH, 2012 CPD ¶ 292 (past performance win in $8 billion competition); TriWest Healthcare Alliance, 2012 CPD ¶ 191 (protest defense in $20 billion award); DRS C3 Systems, LLC, 2008 CPD ¶ 103 (broad spectrum of past performance protests upheld).
  • Cost/Price RealismHealthNet Federal Services, 2009 CPD ¶ 220 (price realism win on $16 billion procurement); CACI Technologies, 2014 CPD ¶ 44 (cost realism defense); IBM Corp., 2008 CPD ¶ 64 (cost/price evaluation errors proven).
  • Integrity & ResponsibilityAcrow Corp. of America v. United States, 97 Fed. Cl. 161, aff’d on recon. 97 Fed. Cl. 182 (2011), dismissed on appeal (Fed. Cir. 2011) (defense of UK company against integrity and responsibility protest based on UK corruption charges); DME Corp., 2010 CPD ¶ 44 (dismissal of Procurement Integrity protest involving former employee).
  • Stay of PerformanceSupreme Foodservice GmbH v. United States, 109 Fed. Cl. 369 (2013) (overturning improper stay override in $8 billion protest dispute); Air Transport Ass’n, Inc., et al., ODRA-08-466 (Aug. 28, 2008) (rare stay of award by ODRA in FAA procurement).

False Claims Act & Contract Litigation & Disputes

 

  • Fraud Actions. Litigates FCA suits, including $657 million FCA claim after a 2-month trial and two appeals (782 F.3d 718 (6th Cir. 2015) (rejecting trial court’s damages award) and $400 million FCA suit resolved for less than penny on the dollar after dismissal of parallel $64 million defective pricing claim (2017 WL 1457493 and 17-1 BCA ¶ 36585). See also United States ex rel. Ackley v. IBM, 76 F. Supp. 2d 654 (D. Md. 1999) (briefed and argued jurisdictional dismissal of qui tam relator’s fraud claims); Peoples v. Eagle-Picher Indus., Inc., No. 96-5009-CV-SW-GAF (W.D. Mo. 2003) (briefed disqualification of qui tam relator’s counsel, ultimately leading to dismissal of action).
  • Investigations. Defends fraud investigations, subpoenas, and audits (DCIS, AFOSI, Army CID, and various Inspector General offices) relating to defective pricing, Cost Accounting Standards, commercial items, ethics rules, battlefield contracting, labor charging, and government property.
  • Prime/Subcontractor Disputes. Advises both prime and subcontractors on contract and technology issues (e.g., software/data rights, procurement integrity breaches, teaming agreements, and commercial items) and litigates prime/sub disputes in both federal court and arbitrations. See, e.g., O’Gara Satellite Sys., Inc., vs. Telenor Satellite Serv., Inc., No. AW 04 CV 3841 (S.D. Md. 2005) (achieved no-cost resolution of lost-profits claim for satellite services after judicial mediation); McDonnell Douglas Corp. vs. SCI Corp., No. 91CV2077 (E.D. Mo. 1996-97) (conducted 2 weeks of courtroom cross-examination relating to A-12 prime/sub contract, leading to successful resolution and withdrawal of default termination).

Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Homeland Security

 

  • Federal Security Requirements. Prepared comprehensive analyses of federal information security and privacy standards (e.g., FISMA, FIPS, NIST, and Privacy Act), advised contractors on scope and compliance, and developed advocacy papers on risk assessments, security controls, cost-effectiveness standards, and management roles applicable to federal contractors.
  • DoD Security Requirements. Advised multiple Fortune 500 companies on DFARS Safeguarding Rule (minimum security requirements, incident reporting, flowdowns, & waiver process), NDAA § 941, NISPOM, TRICARE security rules, and prior versions of DoD information assurance requirements, such as DIACAP.
  • Cloud Computing & FedRAMP. Developed comprehensive analyses and advised major technology companies on federal cloud computing, FedRAMP information security, and DoD-unique cloud security requirements and their intersection with federal acquisition rules.
  • Mobile Devices & BYOD. Reviewed international, federal, and industry standards relating to mobile devices—including Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD)—and advised clients on applicable requirements and compliance.
  • Cybersecurity Disputes. Defended against default termination notice for security breach, litigated cybersecurity issues in various protest actions, and developed defense strategy against complaint alleging security vulnerabilities in IT devices sold by Fortune 100 companies.
  • Personnel Security & Offshoring. Reviewed federal agency regulations and standards and advised multiple government contractors and commercial companies on personnel security and screening controls, U.S.-only personnel security requirements, and restrictions on offshoring of federal data.
  • Security Breaches & Audits. Advised government contractors on security breaches, advanced persistent threats (APTs), agency actions to terminate network access and interconnections, and disputes over scope and legality of federal security audits, monitoring, and corrective action demands.
  • Congressional Testimony. Testified before House Congressional Committees regarding DoD cybersecurity, homeland security technology and the SAFETY Act, and TSA acquisition rules and exemptions.
  • Early Data Privacy Attorneys See No End To Field’s Growth Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (February 21, 2019) 
  • “Government Contracts Group of the Year: Crowell & Moring” Law360 (January 6, 2016)
  • “Expert Tells Federal Contractors to Play It Safe, Invest in Compliance” Bloomberg BNA (May 12, 2015)
  • “5 Issues Gov’t Contractors Need To Know About In 2015” Law360 (January 7, 2015)
  • “Lead Report: Cybersecurity Plan Confusing, Should be Revamped, Attorneys Say” BNA Federal Contracts Report (April 28, 2014)
  • “Law Firms Adding Cybersecurity Fields” Pittsburg Post-Gazette (November 1, 2013)
  • “Considering a Cyberstrike Against Syria” TechNewsWorld (September 10, 2013)
  • “6 Steps to Secure Systems for Sequester” Government Computer News (April 16, 2013)
  • “The Invisible Enemy: President’s Remarks Underscore New Focus on Cyber Crime” STORES (April 3, 2013) 
  • “Cloud Computing Contracts Run Into Bottleneck At GSA” Law360 (March 28, 2013) 
  • “Hackers Could be Fair Game for Deadly Force, Cyberwar Experts Say” CSO Online (March 22, 2013)
  • “Q&A With Crowell’s David Bodenheimer” Law360 (March 15, 2013) 
  • “Major Contracting Reform Could Hurt Competition, Small Biz” Government Contracts Law360, Quoted (July 10, 2012) 
  • “Waiting On Cybersecurity Laws, Agencies Toughen Regs” Government Contracts Law360, Quoted (March 26, 2012) 
  • “Cybersecurity Reforms Likely As Contractor Support Grows” Government Contracts Law360, Quoted (March 20, 2012) 
  • “Nation’s Infrastructure Still Vulnerable to Cyber Attack” ABC News/Politics (August 4, 2011) 
  • “The Cybersecurity Boom” The Washington Post (May 10, 2010) 
  • “Flaw in the Marketplace Hurts Smaller Security Tech Firms” CQ Homeland Security (June 9, 2008)
  • “Caught in the Act: Critics Say Safety Act Stifles Anti-Terrorism Technology” Federal Computer Week (July 18, 2005)

Robert Nichols

Partner

Andy Liu

Partner

Lynne Halbrooks

Partner

Bob Rhoad

Partner

Steven Shaw

Partner

Rick Beizer

Of Counsel

Michael Bhargava

Of Counsel

Rick Claybrook

Of Counsel

Haaleh Katouzian

Associate

Sam Van Kopp

Associate

Logan Kemp

Associate

Sonya Krautner

Paralegal

Sophie Wechsler

Project Manager

Avery Studer

Chief of Staff