John W. Chierichella

John Chierichella is a partner in the Government Contracts, Investigations & International Trade Practice Group in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Chierichella has a broad range of experience in government contract matters, including bid protests, claims and appeals, cost and CAS issues, teaming disputes, GSA's Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program, compliance reviews and internal investigations, and qui tam and other False Claims Act litigation.

He is a prolific author and frequent lecturer, and co-authored the leading book on the MAS Program.

Mr. Chierichella served as attorney/adviser to the Secretary, Office of the General Counsel, Department of the Air Force, in the area of procurement law (1973-75).

Mr. Chierichella holds a Top Secret national security clearance.

Education

• J.D., Columbia Law School, 1972
• A.B., Cornell University, 1969

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• California
• New York

Honors

• Martindale-Hubbell Alternative Dispute Resolution Washington, D.C. Top Rated Lawyer, 2012
• Chambers & Partners', Tier 1 National Ranking
• Best Lawyers in America
• Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer
• America's Leading Business Lawyers
• Best Lawyers in Washington, D.C.
• Best Government Contracts Lawyers, Washington Business Journal
• Best Government Contracts Lawyers, Washingtonian Magazine
• SmartCEO Magazine's SmartLawyers
• Legal Times, "Leading Lawyer"

Memberships

• Member, Advisory Board of the Government Contractor
• Member, American Bar Association's Sections of Public Contract Law, Administrative Law and Litigation
• Member, National Contract Management Association

Articles

• Q&A With Sheppard Mullin's John Chierichella, Law360, March 5, 2013
• As Sequestration Causes Push for Unrequited Patriotism, Government Contractors Should Just Say No - Interview with John Chierichella, LXBN TV, March 1, 2013

Books

• Multiple Award Schedule Contracting, Thomson West, May 2002 (John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie), 2009 (Third Edition)

Government Contracts, Investigations & International Trade Blog Postings

• "Teaming Agreements Called Into Question Under Virginia Law," April 29, 2013
• "The ABC's of Government Contract Claims - 10 Ways to Maximize Your Chance of Success," January 28, 2013
• "GAO Issues FY 2012 Bid Protest Report - Protests and Sustains Up From FY 2011," November 26, 2012
• "What Happens In Vegas Doesn't Seem To Stay In Vegas: A Different Take on GSA's Recent Woes," October 24, 2012
• "Sequestration: Funding Shortfalls and Unrequited Patriotism," October 24, 2012
• "What Would Andy Rooney Have Said?" June 15, 2012
• "Penalties for Expressly Unallowable Costs - The ASBCA Reconsiders and Ups the Ante for Contractors," February 13, 2012
• "DOD Issues New Guidance on B&P - But Is It Right?" December 9, 2011
• "New Disclosure Requirements For Companies Doing Business In California," December 9, 2011
• "Organizational Conflicts of Interest - How We Can Help," October 24, 2011
• "The RAT Board Begets the GAT Board - Who Could Ask for Anything More?," July 15, 2011
• "10 Ways To Waste Your B&P," June 16, 2011
• "DCMA Updates Forward Pricing Rate Recommendation Policy," March 16, 2011
• "Rush To Judgment - FAR Councils Propose Daily Compounding Of Interest For TINA Violations," November 11, 2010
• "New Iranian Sanctions Legislation: Summary of Key Provisions," July 12, 2010
• "FAPIIS: The New Integrity Database For Government Contractors," June 14, 2010
• "DCAA's Promises Of A "New Mode of Operation" Leading To "Mutually Beneficial Relationships" Evaporate Within Less Than Three Months," June 14, 2010
• "Administration Actively Solicits Higher Costs From Bidders - Is Its "High Road Procurement Policy" Headed Off a Cliff?," March 19, 2010
• DOD Director of Industrial Policy Assails Bid Protest Process -- "Don't Confuse Me With the Facts", December 8, 2009
• Top Ten Reasons DCAA Should Let COs Do Their Bloody Job, November 9, 2009
• "The Allocability of IR&D -- A Fork in the Road?," July 7, 2009
• "There You Go Again" - Does the Fourth Estate Even Try to Get it Right When it Comes to Government Contracts?, May 29, 2009
• Quo Vadis? - Rothe and the Future of Federal Contracting Programs for Minority-Owned Small Businesses, May 12, 2009
• The Assault on Contracting Officer Independence Continues Apace, May 12, 2009
• DCAA And the Art of Intimidation - Some Historical Perspective, May 12, 2009
• DCAA And The Art Of Intimidation, April 9, 2009
• Stimulation Has Its Price - The Audit and Oversight Provisions of The 2009 Stimulus Bill Are Unlike Anything Most Funding Recipients Have Ever Seen, February 23, 2009
• FAR Councils Issue Final Rule for Human Trafficking, February 17, 2009
• DCAA Form 1 Withholdings: What Gives?, January 12, 2009
• Federal Circuit Strikes Down DOD Preferences For Minority Contractors As Unconstitutional; Consequences Uncertain, November 17, 2008 
• Hitchcock And Specialty Metals - DOD's New Proposed Rules Are Dizzying; Ambiguities Remain, September 8, 2008 
• New DOD Rule Imposes Contractual Requirement For Contractors To Comply With U.S. Export Laws, September 8, 2008  
• Allison Engine - More Unanswered Questions, June 30, 2008
• Specialty Metals Update: HASC Criticizes DCMA's January 2008 Specialty Metals Class Deviation, June 30, 2008
• Short Circuiting the IDIQ Bid Protest War: A Pyrrhic Victory?, June 30, 2008
• Violating the False Claims Act Without Actually Doing So - The Backdoor to Liability, May 15, 2008
• Two Roads Converged?: Merging the COFC's and GAO's Timeliness Requirements, March 13, 2008
• Cost Corner' for February 2008, February 6, 2008

Selected Articles in Print

• 10 Ways To Maximize Success Of Gov't Contract Claims, Law360, February 19, 2013
• Sequestration: A Tale of Unrequited Patriotism, Law360, November 5, 2012
• The Budget Crunch, Fixed Price Contracts, and Lessons of the Past, National Defense, July 2012
• DOD Bid And Proposal Guidance --Is It Right?, Law360, December 19, 2011
• Gov't Contracts Group Of The Year: Sheppard Mullin, Law360, February 3, 2011
• Q&A With Sheppard Mullin’s John Chierichella, Law360, November 30, 2010
• Let's Just Eliminate All Pretense of Balance, Westlaw Journal, July 12, 2010
• The FAR's "Contractor Business Ethics Compliance Program And Disclosure Requirements" Require Significant Changes For All Government Contractors And Subcontractors, The Government Contractor, December 17, 2008
• Rolling Back Past Reforms , Legal Times, October 8, 2007
• The Continuing Saga Of Specialty Metals - Nothing Is Ever So Bad That It Cannot Be Made Worse, International Government Contractor, April 28, 2007
• A Slalom Course for Foreign Investors, Legal Times, April 16, 2007
• M&A Implications for Acquisitions of Small Business Government Contractors, MergerMarket, March 6, 2007
• Multiple Award Maze, Government Executive, January 12, 2007
• Chapter on United States Procurement law in Global Competition Review, "Public Procurement 2007 - An Overview of Regulation in 36 Jurisdictions Worldwide," 2007
• Berry Amendment "Reform" - The Sound and The Fury, Government Contractor, October 25, 2006
• How to Know When You're in Too Deep With the Feds, Washington Business Journal, March 10, 2006
• Uncle Sam Isn't in the Express Lane, Washington Business Journal, February 10, 2006
• Eight Things to Know Before a Contractor Goes Global, Washington, Business Journal, January 27, 2006
• Key Differences Between Contracting with DHS and Other, More Traditional Government Agencies., Homeland Security Outlook 2006, November 17, 2005
• Government Contractors Should Prepare for "A Bumpy Night", Washington Business Journal, October 14-20, 2005
• Can this Business Marriage be Saved? Should It Be?, Washington Business Journal, October 7, 2005
• GAO protests: Right and Wrong Ways to Claim "Foul", Washington Business Journal, June 24, 2005
• Financing Government Contracts / Edition II - Part I, Briefing Papers, April 21, 2005
• Financing Government Contracts / Edition II Part II, Briefing Papers, April 21, 2005
• Secure Your IP Rights For Data, Software, Washington Business Journal, April 1, 2005
• Protecting Your Intellectual property, Vol. 1: Patents, Briefing Papers, March 3, 2005
• Who's Who in Gov't Contracting: A Cast of Characters, Washington Business Journal, January 21, 2005
• So, You Want to Be a Government Contractor?, Washington Business Journal, December 3, 2004
• Financing Government Contracts/Edition II-Part I, Briefing Papers, December 2004 (John W. Chierichella, David S. Gallacher).
• Speciality Metals and the Berry Amendment - Frankenstein's Monster and Bad Domestic Policy, The Government Contractor, April 21, 2004
• Effective Selling Under GSA's Multiple Award Schedule Program, Insight, May 2002 (John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie)
• The Baby and the Bathwater - Procurement Policy Gone Wrong, Government Contract Audit Report, Spring 2002 (John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie, Abram J. Pafford)
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims Holds Government Contractor Entitled to Equitable Adjustment of Mandatory Pension Plan Cost Accounting Change, September 5, 2001 (John W. Chierichella, Douglas E. Perry)
• Unwary Rabbits Beware: IDIQ Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry, Government Contract Audit Report, February 2001 (John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie)
• Domestic & Foreign Product Preferences, Briefing Papers, Second Series, December 2000 (John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie, Andrew Skowronek)
• When is Information Confidential? The Government and Courts' Ongoing Tug-of-War over FOIA's Exemption 4 Leaves Contracts Professionals in a Bind, Contract Management, November 2000 ( John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie, James J. McCullough)
• The Civil False Claims Act: More Relevant Than You May Think, Director's Monthly, October 2000 (John T. Boese, John W. Chierichella, Richard A. Sauber)
• The Government's Assault on FOIA Exemption 4: Do You Know Where Your Data Are?, Off The Shelf, October 2000 (John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie, James J. McCullough)
• Feature Comment: The Buy American Act/FAR Part 25 Rewrite - A Law of Unintended Consequences, The Government Contractor, August 16, 2000 (John W. Chierichella, Andrew Skowronek)
• A Qui Tam Conundrum, Legal Times, February 28, 2000 (John W. Chierichella, Louis D. Victorino) 
• Commissions & Fees Paid to Overseas Agents: Cost Recovery & Related Rules, Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report, August 1998 (John W. Chierichella, Douglas E. Perry, Michael L. Waldman)
• GSA IG Audits—You Can't Afford to Be Unprepared, Off the Shelf, August 1998 (John W. Chierichella, Jonathan S. Aronie)
• Competitor Collaborations by Government Contractors —Unique Considerations for FTC's Joint Venture Project, The Government Contractor, Vol. 39, No. 46, December 3, 1997 (John W. Chierichella, J. Todd Hutchins)
• The Government as a Commercial Customer After FASA & Clinger-Cohen, Government Contract Audit Report, December 1997/January 1998 (John W. Chierichella, Tommy P. Beaudreau)
• Commercial Item Exemptions to the Truth in Negotiations Act and Cost Accounting Standards Under FASA and the Clinger-Cohen Act, Third Annual Federal Procurement Institute, ABA Section of Public Contract Law, February 27, 1997 (John W. Chierichella, Louis D. Victorino)
• Multiple Award Task & Delivery Order Contracts, Briefing Papers, No. 96-10, September 1996 (Louis D. Victorino, John W. Chierichella)
• Commentary, Government Contracts Update—The New Anti-Fraud Statutes Do More than Increase the Penalties, Department of Justice Manual, 9-42.420A, 1994-3 Supplement, 1994 (John W. Chierichella, John T. Boese, Timothy Maguire)
• Mergers and Acquisitions of Government Contractors: Special Considerations and Due Diligence Concerns, American Bar Association Public Contract Law Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4, 1994 (John W. Chierichella, Douglas E. Perry)
• IR&D Redux, Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report, No. 93-2, February 1993 (John W. Chierichella, Douglas E. Perry)
• Negotiating Teaming Agreements, Acquisition Issues, Volume 1, June 1991 (John W. Chierichella)
• Improving Business Opportunities Through Teaming, Federal Acquisition Report, Volume VIII, No.4, April 1991 (John W. Chierichella)
• IR&D vs. Contract Effort, Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report, No. 90-2, February 1990 (John W. Chierichella)
• Foreign Investment in Defense-Related Companies, 51 Federal Contracts Report 837, May 8, 1989 (John W. Chierichella)
• Three New Criminal Statutes From the 100th Congress, Contract Management, February 1989 (John W. Chierichella)
• Antitrust Considerations Affecting Teaming Agreements, 57 Antitrust Law Journal 555, 1988 (John W. Chierichella)
• Financing Government Contracts, Briefing Papers, No. 86-7, 1986 (John W. Chierichella) 
• New Interim DoD Rules Ease Security-Related Restrictions on Foreign Ownerships of U.S. Contractors, Contract Management, December 1983 (John W. Chierichella)
• The Buy American Act and the Use of Foreign Sources in Federal Procurements -- An Issues Analysis, 9 Public Contract Law Journal 73, December 1977 (John W. Chierichella)