Category: Meet Blank Rome

Two Recent Blank Rome Team Recognitions

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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.

Dominique L. Casimir Named Section Chair’s Special Recognition Award Recipient by the ABA Section of Public Contract Law

Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that partner Dominique L. Casimir, who serves as co-chair of the firm’s General Litigation group, received the American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law‘s (“the Section”) Section Chair’s Special Recognition Award. 

Please visit our website to learn more about Dominique’s award.

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

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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.

Blank Rome’s Black History Month D.C. Easel Project—and a Surprising Connection between the Defense Industry and the 1963 March on Washington

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Justin A. Chiarodo and Robyn N. Burrows ●

In honor of Black History Month, we wanted to highlight one of the most impactful traditions in our Washington, D.C., office: the Black History Month D.C. Easel Project, in which Blank Rome attorneys, staff, and clients work together to create easels depicting notable historic events and figures from D.C.’s rich African American history. Thanks to the leadership and innovation of our partner Saminaz Akhter, the Easel Project has deepened our awareness and appreciation of the significant contributions Black people have made in our Nation’s Capital (you can learn more about the program in this video).

The theme for last year’s easels was civil demonstrations and protests, including the 1919 Red Summer riot, the 1939 Marian Anderson concert at the Lincoln Memorial, the 1958/59 Youth March for Integrated Schools, the 2020 George Floyd protests, and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Our research on the origins of the 1963 March on Washington revealed a surprising connection to the defense industry that we wanted to spotlight for our “Sustained Action” readership.

The seeds for the March on Washington were sown decades earlier, when A. Phillip Randolph (head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and an early leader of the civil rights movement) proposed a mass march on Washington, D.C., to highlight segregation and discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces and the defense industry.

Continue reading “Blank Rome’s Black History Month D.C. Easel Project—and a Surprising Connection between the Defense Industry and the 1963 March on Washington”

Amplifying Our Clarion Call

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Justin A. Chiarodo, Dominique L. Casimir, and Krystal Studavent Ramsey  ●

Krystal Studavent Ramsey headshot image

We are thrilled to kick off our new Government Contracts Navigator blog series, “Sustained Action: DEI in Government Contracting,” which shines a light on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and progress in the government contracts industry and at Blank Rome. As we wrote back in 2020, working to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion is not a one-time exercise but a practice—one to which we are committed for the long run.

We approach this effort fully embracing that we bring our own backgrounds, journeys, and perspectives to a complicated area, and that fostering an environment of mutual respect and the free exchange of ideas is critical to promoting the understanding of different viewpoints and implementing solutions that make a difference.

“Sustained Action” is our next step in this journey. This post focuses on our recent participation in the American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section’s (“ABA PCL”) 10 Day Tune Up, and other initiatives we are driving at Blank Rome in 2023. The 10 Day Tune Up was a follow-up program to the successful 2020 program that we wrote about previously, the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge© (“21-Day Challenge”).

Continue reading “Amplifying Our Clarion Call”

Blank Rome’s Government Contracts Group Named Practice Group of the Year by Law360

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We are pleased to announce that our Government Contracts group has been named a 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.”

Learn more on our website.

November 18, 2022: “Navigating the Maze of Embargoes and Sanctions”

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Blank Rome partner Anthony Rapa will serve as a panelist at the International Trademark Association’s (“INTA”) 2022 Leadership Meeting, being held November 15 through 18, 2022, in Miami, Florida.

Anthony’s session, “Navigating the Maze of Embargoes and Sanctions,” will take place on Friday, November 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

For more details, visit our website.

November 9, 2022: “Legal and DoJ Matters”

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Blank Rome partner Justin A. Chiarodo will serve as a panelist at Federal Publications Seminars and Capital Edge Consulting’s 2022 Government Contract Accounting and Regulatory Update, being held November 9 and 10, 2022, in Arlington, Virginia.

Justin’s session, “Legal and DoJ Matters,” will take place Wednesday, November 9, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., and the panel will cover settlement and judgments from recent civil fraud and false claims, penalty assessments, and emerging issues.

For more details, visit our website.

Blank Rome Runs and Raises Money for Veterans Non-Profit

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Attorney Michael Montalbano and Blank Rome’s Government Contracts group are raising money for Salute, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to U.S. veterans and their families. The fundraiser will culminate on October 9 with Michael running the Chicago marathon on behalf of both Salute, Inc. and Blank Rome. Michael provided the following statement about the fundraiser:

Many of our clients are led by or employ U.S. veterans. I have seen these veterans accomplish tremendous feats, whether it is developing state-of-the-art technology for the Government or supporting U.S. bases across the world.

I was looking for a veterans organization to support when I found that Salute, Inc. was sponsoring runners for the Chicago marathon. I have been an avid runner since law school, so I thought this was a good opportunity to both run the marathon and raise money for a good cause, supporting individuals who are such an integral part of the Blank Rome Government Contracts legal practice.

When I approached the head of our Government Contracts practice group, Justin Chiarodo, about the fundraiser, he immediately encouraged me to take on this challenge. He said to reach out to the attorneys in our practice group. They have a deep appreciation for our veteran clients and would certainly donate to this cause.

Justin was absolutely right. The attorneys and staff in my practice group and across the firm were eager to donate to the fundraiser. Within a few days, we exceeded our initial fundraising goal, and I am proud to say that we recently surpassed our revised fundraising goal.

As for training, I am on target to run the marathon on October 9. My goals are just to finish the race and raise money to help Salute, Inc. continue its important mission. Thanks to the support of my colleagues both of those goals are well within sight.

If you are interested in supporting this fundraiser, you can learn more and donate by clicking here.

Law360 Rising Star: Elizabeth N. Jochum

Blank Rome partner Elizabeth N. Jochum was profiled as a 2022 Government Contracts Rising Star by Law360, notably honoring her as one of the top five government contracts attorneys nationwide under the age of 40. (See Law360 Names Elizabeth N. Jochum a 2022 Government Contracts Rising Star)

In her profile, Elizabeth talks about why she’s a government contracts attorney, her biggest recent case and other important cases throughout her career, and her proudest moments as an attorney.

You can read an excerpt on our website. 

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