Smith Pachter McWhorter Featured In Forbes Magazine
An "advertorial" in the April 2008 subscriber edition of Forbes magazine featured Smith Pachter McWhorter's accomplishments in the areas of government contracts and construction. The article cited firm founders John Pachter, Val McWhorter and Richard Smith as deeply respected for their expertise and acumen in government contracts and construction law. Other leading firm practitioners, including Brian Vella, Stephen Knight, Mark Hanson, D. Joe Smith, Richard Johnson, and Jonathan Shaffer, were noted for their depth of experience and capabilities. Click here for full text.
“Allowability of Legal Costs of Third-Party Lawsuits Following Tecom, Inc.” recently published in the Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report.
Richard Johnson, Joe Smith, and Matthew Haws recently prepared an article entitled “Allowability of Legal Costs of Third-Party Lawsuits Following Tecom, Inc.,” which was published in the March 2008 edition of the Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report. The article discusses the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ attempt in the Tecom case to clarify the law related to the allowability of third-party legal costs and to limit the application of the Boeing test to situations where the underlying lawsuit involves allegations of fraud against the Government.
The full text of the article is available here.
E-Letter
FY 08 DOD Authorization Act Tightens Government Contract Rules
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC
Government Contracts Update
Vol. IV, No. 1 April, 2008
By Stephen D. Knight
Smith Pachter McWhorter constantly tracks current events, issues, and trends in Government Contracts to keep clients on the cutting edge of legal and policy developments.
Click here to view this e-letter.
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E-Letter
FAR Final Rule Requires Contractors, Subcontractors to Implement Code of Business Ethics and Conduct; Additional Onerous Requirements May Follow
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC
Government Contracts Update
Vol. III, No. 4 January, 2008
By Stephen D. Knight
Smith Pachter McWhorter constantly tracks current events, issues, and trends in Government Contracts to keep clients on the cutting edge of legal and policy developments.
Click here to view this e-letter.
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E-Letter
Congress Proposes Civil False Claims Rewrite; CAS and Cost Issues Predominate
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC
Government Contracts Update
Vol. III, No. 3 October, 2007
By Stephen D. Knight
Smith Pachter McWhorter constantly tracks current events, issues, and trends in Government Contracts to keep clients on the cutting edge of legal and policy developments.
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Smith Pachter Attorneys selected as Best Lawyers for 2008 in Washington, D.C. Area
Additional information about this honor is available here.
Smith Pachter Attorneys Featured Speakers at Major Construction Industry Conference
Val S. McWhorter, Brian J. Vella, and Stephen D. Knight, partners at Smith Pachter McWhorter, spoke on current issues facing the construction industry at the Construction Superconference in December 2007 in San Francisco.
Mr. McWhorter appeared on a panel sponsored by Exponent on December 13 entitled: "Outfitting the Wolf (DBB) in Sheep's Clothing (DB)." The panel discussion focused on a case study of the performance issues that can result when a design-bid-build (DBB) mindset is applied to a design-build (DB) project. Mr. McWhorter has been practicing construction law for over 30 years and is a founding member of Smith Pachter McWhorter.
Mr. Vella and Mr. Knight presented a program entitled: “Fraud and Compliance in Construction: Strategies for Staying Alive" on Thursday, December 13, 2007. The program examined recent cases in which courts assessed major fraud damages against construction contractors on federal projects and also discussed best practices in the compliance area to avoid fraud allegations. Mr. Vella has been practicing construction law for over 20 years. Mr. Knight is in his 30th year of practicing government contacts law.
The Superconference, now in its 22nd year, is one of the premier construction industry legal events. Additional information is available at the 2007 Construction Superconference website at: http://www.constructionsuperconference.com/
E-Letter
Contractors
Targeted by Law and Regulation Changes; Courts Reject
Government Bad Faith
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC
Government Contracts Update
Vol. III, No. 2 May, 2007
By Stephen D. Knight
Smith Pachter McWhorter constantly tracks current events, issues, and trends in Government Contracts to keep clients on the cutting edge of legal and policy developments.
Click here to view this e-letter.
Click here to view previous e-letters.
E-Letter
Proposed Far Requires Contractor
Ethics Code and Compliance Program, Report of "Irregularities"
and "Full Cooperation" with Government Investigators
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC
Government Contracts Update
Vol. III, No. 1 March, 2007
By Stephen D. Knight
Smith Pachter McWhorter constantly tracks current events,
issues, and trends in Government Contracts to keep clients
on the cutting edge of legal and policy developments.
Click here
to view this e-letter.
Click here to view previous e-letters.
E-Letter
Democrats' Control of Congress
Portends Increased Governmnet Contractor Scrutiny
Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC
Government Contracts Update
Vol. II, No. 4 December, 2006
By Stephen D. Knight
Smith Pachter McWhorter constantly tracks current events,
issues, and trends in Government Contracts to keep clients
on the cutting edge of legal and policy developments.
Click here
to view this e-letter.
Click here to view previous e-letters.
“Aspects of Construction Scheduling” recently published in the Section of Public Contract Law’s The Procurement Lawyer.
Mark Hanson recently prepared an article entitled “Aspects of Construction Scheduling,” which was published in the October 2006 edition of the The Procurement Lawyer, the quarterly members’ publication of the ABA’s Section of Public Contract Law. The article provides information about several current developments relating to key concepts involved in network scheduling of construction projects. The article addresses the concepts of float, concurrent delay and acceptable proof of schedule-related claims.
The full text of the article is available here.
Smith Pachter Attorneys Recognized as Super Lawyers
in the Washington, D.C. and Virginia Legal Communities
Washington
DC Super Lawyers selected Val S. McWhorter, John S. Pachter,
Richard C. Johnson and Richard F. Smith in its 2007 edition
for their expertise in the following areas: Val McWhorter
in Construction; John Pachter and Richard Johnson in Government
Contracts; and Richard Smith in Alternative Dispute Resolution. All
four attorneys have at least 30 years of experience in
their practice areas. An article about these attorneys
from Washington DC Super Lawyers is available here.
In addition, Virginia Super Lawyers selected Val S. McWhorter,
Richard C. Johnson and Richard F. Smith its 2007 edition
for their expertise in the following areas: Val McWhorter
in Construction/Surety; Richard Johnson in Government Contracts;
and Richard Smith in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Super Lawyers "adheres to a rigorous selection
process … evaluating quality in the most objective
possible terms and verifying and validating all data. The
only way a lawyer can be listed in Super Lawyers magazine
is through this selection process." Selections
are made using a "system of balloting, peer evaluation,
and internal research."
Smith Pachter McWhorter is pleased to have these outstanding
attorneys recognized as leaders in the Washington, D.C.
and Virginia legal communities. Complete biographical
information is available in their individual resumes on
our website. Click
here for SuperLawyers full information.
Four Smith Pachter Attorneys
Selected as Best Lawyers in America
Based
on confidential peer-review surveys, Best Lawyers in America
has selected Val McWhorter, Brian Vella, Mark Hanson and
Richard Smith for its 2008 edition. All four attorneys
were selected for their experience and acumen in the practice
of Construction Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution. The
firm was ranked number 1 in the Commonwealth of Virginia
for Alternative Dispute Resolution, with more listed selected
lawyers in that practice area than any other firm in Virginia. The
firm was ranked number 1 in Vienna, Virginia for Construction
Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Published
since 1983, Best Lawyers in America is a highly
regarded reference to the country’s top lawyers and
one of the highest professional accolades.
Val S. McWhorter and Richard
F. Smith Recognized as Leaders in Construction Law
The
2007 edition of the International Who's Who of Construction
Lawyers recognized Val S. McWhorter and Richard F. Smith
as attorneys "who can truly be considered leaders
in the field." International Who's Who of Construction
Lawyers made its selections based on "months of research" and
after "canvass[ing] and analys[ing] the opinions of
law firm clients … from around the world." Mr.
McWhorter and Mr. Smith are both members of the prestigious
American College of Construction Lawyers and have practiced
construction law for over 30 years. Additional biographical
information for these outstanding attorneys can be found
under their entry on the Attorney page of this website.
Chambers USA 2007 Edition
Describes Smith Pachter McWhorter as "Deeply Respected"
In
its 2007 edition, Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers
for Business, described Smith Pachter McWhorter as a "deeply
respected" construction and government contract "boutique" that "handles
a steady stream of project administration and construction
disputes." The publication pointed to the firm's representation
of "both local and national contractors in relation to
large infrastructure projects." Clients identified Val
McWhorter as a "go-to construction lawyer" who "can be
entrusted to handle really complex litigation." "Interviewees
endorsed his wealth of construction experience as well
as his strong courtroom presence." Mark Hanson was mentioned
as a "rising star" in representing contractors, sureties
and design professionals on commercial, industrial and
power generation projects. Chambers described Richard Smith
as a "seasoned practitioner" who "devotes his practice
to acting as mediator and arbitrator in the resolution
of construction and contract disputes."
Chambers also reported that the
four partners who practice in the area of government contracts
(Richard Johnson, Stephen Knight, Jonathan Shaffer and
John Pachter) "each won significant praise from market
sources for having 'in-depth expertise.'" Interviewees
reported that the team "works effectively together to maximize
resources," allowing it to work on major disputes and protests.
Chambers said "The market's praise is strongest for 'consummate
professional' John Pachter." "'Committed and thorough'
with 'deep knowledge,' he's appreciated by clients for
his 'careful, unvarnished advice – he'll give you
the worst up front and a steer on how to overcome it.'"
