Category: Justin A. Chiarodo

3 Takeaways from Recent U.S. Regulatory Actions Implementing AUKUS

Anthony Rapa, George T. Boggs, Justin A. Chiarodo, and Dimitri DeChurch-Silva ●

As a next step in the U.S. government’s implementation of the trilateral AUKUS security pact with Australia and the United Kingdom (“UK”), the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) recently took measures to further ease export controls among the member countries. Reducing export control restrictions is the linchpin to implementing the AUKUS pact, which aims to bolster security cooperation and defense trade between Australia, the UK, and the United States.

While DDTC stopped short of concretely scaling back export controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”), it proposed a framework to do so in the coming year (likely to turn on Australia and the UK completing the adoption of ITAR-equivalent export controls and exemptions). Meanwhile, BIS lifted a range of controls under the Export Administration Regulations, placing Australia and the UK on nearly equal footing with Canada.

Read the full client alert on our website.

Justin A. Chiarodo and Elizabeth N. Jochum Named to Law360’s 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards

Elizabeth Jochum
Justin Chiarodo

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Government Contracts partners Justin A. Chiarodo and Elizabeth N. Jochum have been named to Law360’s 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards. As board members, the partners will provide feedback on Law360’s coverage and share insights on how to best shape future coverage.

Justin, who serves as chair of our firm’s Aerospace, Defense & Government Services industry team and Government Contracts practice group, has been named to Law360’s Aerospace & Defense Editorial Advisory Board for the second time.

Elizabeth has been named to Law360’s 2024 Government Contracts Editorial Advisory Board.

Learn more about other Blank Rome partners serving on Law360’s 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards on our website.

Meet Our Newest Partner, Robyn Burrows


Justin A. Chiarodo, Dominique L. Casimir, and Robyn N. Burrows

In late 2023, we were very happy to announce that Blank Rome Government Contracts associate Robyn N. Burrows was elevated to partner in our Government Contracts practice in Washington, D.C., effective January 2024.

Robyn is a key member of our practice group who represents clients on a wide range of government contracts matters. She has experience preparing and negotiating complex claims and has litigated disputes before the boards of contract appeal and state and federal courts. Robyn has a particular focus on emerging supply chain and cybersecurity issues and has counseled numerous clients on Section 889 compliance. She also provides counseling on cost/pricing issues, domestic preferences, protection of contractor data and intellectual property, and suspension and debarment matters. She has experience navigating clients through False Claims Act investigations and regularly assists clients in high-value bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Robyn has also developed particular experience with Department of Energy (“DOE”) contracts, and has handled matters involving whistleblower complaints, civil investigative demands, subcontractor disputes, cost-allowability issues, and other unique DOE requirements applying to management and operating (“M&O”) contractors.

Robyn is a member of the Public Contract Law Section of the American Bar Association, where she is Vice-Chair – Contract Claims & Disputes Committee, Vice-Chair – Cybersecurity, Privacy and Emerging Technology Committee, and has served as the Associate Editor for the section’s quarterly journal, The Procurement Lawyer, since 2021. Robyn also serves on the Washington, D.C. Bar Government Contracts Steering Committee.

Before joining Blank Rome, Robyn represented construction clients in federal contracting matters. During law school, she was a research editor for the George Mason Law Review. She interned with the Honorable R. Terrence Ney of the Fairfax County Circuit Court, and with the administrative judges at the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

We took some time to chat with Robyn to see how she is settling into her new position, and to learn more about her, including what she enjoys doing outside of work!

Continue reading “Meet Our Newest Partner, Robyn Burrows”

Blank Rome Attorneys Appointed to American Bar Association’s Public Contract Law Section Leadership for the 2023–2024 Term

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that nine attorneys from the firm’s nationally recognized Government Contracts group have been appointed to leadership roles in the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) Public Contract Law Section for the 2023–2024 term, marking the highest number of ABA Public Contract Law Section leadership positions held by our attorneys in the firm’s history.

Visit our website to learn more about their roles and the Section of Public Contract Law.

3 Tips to Reduce False Claims Act Exposure in the Wake of United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc.

Justin A. Chiarodo,Jennifer A. Short, Stephanie M. Harden, Samarth Barot, and Oliver E. Jury ●

2023 is shaping up to be a major year in False Claims Act (“FCA”) practice, with the Supreme Court weighing in on both FCA scienter (in SuperValu) and the reach of the government’s dismissal authority (in Polansky), and the government focusing its enforcement efforts around antitrust, cyber, and national security. We focus today on the United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. decision, in which the Supreme Court held that a contractor’s subjective belief about its compliance at the time it submitted claims for payment is relevant to whether it had the requisite scienter for FCA liability. Much has been written on this case, with most articles exploring esoteric concepts like “scienter,” “falsity,” and the “objectively reasonable person.” But assuming—as we do—that the decision will reduce the prospect of successful early dispositive motions, what practical steps can contractors take to reduce their False Claims Act exposure and avoid litigation in the first place? We offer three suggestions.

We begin with a basic refresher on the issue presented in SuperValu. A defendant is not liable under the False Claims Act unless it “knowingly” (including acting with “reckless disregard”) submits a false claim to the government. The “knowing” scienter element—particularly around reckless disregard—can be difficult to prove in the world of complex and often ambiguous laws and regulations that govern contractors’ compliance. The federal circuits had split on the issue of whether a defendant’s subjective interpretation at the time it submitted claims for payment to the government was relevant to determining FCA “knowledge” if the defendant could later show that the underlying rule was ambiguous and its conduct (regardless of its contemporaneous understanding or belief) was consistent with an objective, reasonable interpretation of the unsettled requirement. SuperValu resolved the debate by holding that whether a defendant knowingly violated the FCA—and satisfied the scienter element—must consider the defendant’s real-time “knowledge and subjective beliefs.” United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., 143 S. Ct. 1391 (2023).

Continue reading “3 Tips to Reduce False Claims Act Exposure in the Wake of United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc.“

And No Longer Trending: 7 FAQs Regarding the Federal Contractor TikTok Ban

Justin A. Chiarodo, Luke W. Meier, and Robyn N. Burrows ●


Building on recent and ongoing efforts to limit Chinese government access to government contractor supply chains, the FAR Councils published an interim rule effective June 2, 2023, that will broadly ban TikTok on contractor and contractor employee electronic devices used in the performance of federal contracts. The ban will be implemented through a new contract clause at FAR 52.204-27. Expect to see the clause added in all future solicitations (including commercially available off-the-shelf (“COTS”) acquisitions and micro-purchases) and added to existing contracts over the next month. We answer seven common questions on this new interim rule and offer several compliance tips.

What’s banned?

The new TikTok ban broadly prohibits contractors from having or using a “covered application” (e.g., TikTok or other successor applications by ByteDance Limited, a privately held company headquartered in Beijing, China) on any “information technology” used in the performance of a government contract. The ban applies regardless of whether the technology is owned by the government, the contractor, or the contractor’s employees. Bottom line, the rule has a (very) broad reach—it applies to contracts below the micro-purchase threshold, contracts for commercial products and services, and COTS items.

Continue reading “And No Longer Trending: 7 FAQs Regarding the Federal Contractor TikTok Ban”

Blank Rome’s Government Contracts Practice and Attorneys Highly Ranked in Chambers USA and The Legal 500

On the heels of Law360’s recognition of Blank Rome’s Government Contracts Practice as a 2022 Practice Group of the Year, the practice was recently highly ranked by two prestigious legal rankings publications:

Chambers USA 2023

We are thrilled to share that Blank Rome’s Government Contracts Practice was elevated to Band 2 in Government Contracts: The Elite, USA in the recent Chambers USA 2023 rankings, placing our team among the very top group of fewer than 50 law firms in the nationwide rankings. 

Chambers quoted a reference as saying that Blank Rome has “…a good mix of associates and partners with expertise in a wide variety of areas. The firm is a one-stop shop for government contractors’ legal needs.”

To view all of Blank Rome’s Chambers USA 2023 rankings, please visit our website.

The Legal 500 United States 2023

Blank Rome was again highly ranked among top nationwide firms as a “Recommended Firm” in the area of “Government Contracts” in The Legal 500 United States 2023.

“While each member of the team has their own special talents and areas of specialization, as all great teams do, without fail, they unselfishly work together to achieve the client’s goal, in this case, zealously advocating on behalf of their client. From contract formation to interpretation to litigation, they handle the full spectrum and they do it as one, cohesive, disciplined, fighting unit.” ―Testimonial given to The 2023 Legal 500 United States

To view all of Blank Rome’s Legal 500 United States 2023 rankings, please visit our website.

Two Recent Blank Rome Team Recognitions

We’re pleased to share two recent accomplishments of our Government Contracts attorneys.

They’ve Got Next: Government Contracts Fresh Face Elizabeth Jochum

Blank Rome partner Elizabeth N. Jochum has been featured in Bloomberg Law’s “They’ve Got Next” series, which spotlights young lawyers who are “raising the bar in various practice groups.”

Elizabeth is one of five attorneys featured in the government contracts installment. The featured attorneys “work at the intersection of litigation, regulation, and government procurement” as they navigate and defend clients against bid protests.

Read more, including an excerpt of Elizabeth’s “They’ve Got Next” spotlight, as published in Bloomberg Law, on our website.

Justin A. Chiarodo Named to Law360’s 2023 Aerospace & Defense Editorial Advisory Board

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that partner Justin A. Chiarodo, who serves as chair of our firm’s Aerospace, Defense & Government Services industry team and Government Contracts practice group, has been named to Law360’s 2023 Aerospace & Defense Editorial Advisory Board.

Learn more about the board and Justin on our website.

Exporters Take Note: The Commerce Department Really, Really Wants You to Disclose Suspected Violations of the EAR—Both Yours, and Your Competitors’ Too

Justin A. Chiarodo and Anthony Rapa ●

We wrote earlier this year about the growing web of regulation and enforcement attention around export controls. In another key development in this area, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a memo to all of its export enforcement employees on April 18,2023, both reemphasizing the importance of corporate export control compliance, and clarifying its enforcement policies in two key areas. These two developments—one a stick and one a carrot—are designed to promote more (and more significant) disclosures to BIS with respect to violations of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”).

The first item in the memo addresses what happens when a company discovers, but does not report, a “significant possible violation” of the EAR. This marks a major policy change. Going forward, the deliberate non-disclosure of such “significant” possible violations of the EAR will be treated as an aggravating factor when BIS considers penalties. The memo explains that “significant” violations are those that “reflect potential national security harm” as compared to more technical violations. This policy emphasizes the BIS settlement guidelines that focus on the adequacy of a company’s export control program. BIS cautions companies that they face sharply increased risks if they do not make a voluntary disclosure after discovering a “significant” suspected violation.

Continue reading “Exporters Take Note: The Commerce Department Really, Really Wants You to Disclose Suspected Violations of the EAR—Both Yours, and Your Competitors’ Too”

Law360: Gov’t Contracts Group of the Year: Blank Rome

Law360, February 17, 2023

Blank Rome’s Government Contracts group was recently named a 2022 Practice Group of the Year by Law360, which honors “the attorney teams behind litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.” Blank Rome is one of five firms recognized in the Government Contracts practice group category nationwide. 

Read the group’s full Practice Group of the Year profile, as published in Law360, on our website.

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