Emily S. Theriault

Overview

Emily Theriault is special counsel in the Governmental Practice in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.

Areas of Practice:

Emily’s practice includes Contract Disputes Act litigation before the Court of Federal Claims; False Claims Act and Administrative Procedure Act litigation before the U.S. District Courts; bid protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims; size and status protests before the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals; internal investigations; and government contract counseling.

She counsels clients on compliance with federal procurement regulations, including FAR and DFARS provisions relating to the Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct, the Trade Agreements Act, the Price Reductions Clause, small business requirements, and commercial item contracting.

Experience

Representative Government Contracts Investigations

Emily often handles matters involving government contracts investigations, Office of Inspector General subpoena responses and mandatory and voluntary disclosures. Her experience includes investigations on the following topics:

Price Reductions Clause
Defective pricing
False Claims Act
Procurement Integrity Act
Organizational Conflicts of Interest
Small business compliance, including issues relating to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, woman-owned small businesses, and small disadvantaged businesses
Foreign Military Financing
FAR and DFARS provisions

Government Contracts Compliance

Emily counsels clients regarding compliance with federal procurement statutes and regulations. Her experience includes:

counseling clients on small business government contracts mergers and acquisitions;
developing and implementing, as well as assessing and updating, government contracts compliance programs;
drafting Contractor Codes of Business Ethics and Conduct;
drafting government contracts policies, including policies addressing Organizational Conflicts of Interest; gifts, gratuities, bribes and kickbacks; human trafficking; mandatory disclosure; non-retaliation; labor qualifications; procurement integrity; Foreign Military Financing; and truth in bidding and negotiations;
counseling clients on commercial item contracting, small business requirements, and FAR and DFARS compliance;
merger and acquisition due diligence;
training contractors on federal procurement compliance; and
researching government contracts questions related to statutes and regulations.

Government Contracts Litigation & Bid Protests

Emily represents contractors before the U.S. District Courts as well as the Court of Federal Claims. She also represents protesters and intervenors in numerous bid protests filed at the Government Accountability Office and Court of Federal Claims.

Successfully defended a large government contractor from a multi-billion dollar False Claims Act qui tam She assisted with researching case law, interviewing and deposing witnesses and drafting motions. The company obtained a complete victory on summary judgment.
Successfully challenged the Department of Veterans Affairs application of the Veterans Benefits Act, ensuring that service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and veteran-owned small businesses are afforded the appropriate priority. The Court of Federal Claims’ bid protest decision was affirmed by the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari.
Successfully intervened in and defended an Administrative Procedure Act challenge before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Successfully represented a major government contractor in ongoing litigation before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims involving large, complex claims and government counterclaims related to the performance of an $874 million contract with the U.S. Postal Service.

Small Business Size and Status Protests

Emily represents contractors before the Small Business Office of Hearings and Appeals. She has successfully defended numerous size and status protests.

Honors

"Ones to Watch," Best Lawyers, 2024-2025

Top Read Article Award for “Executive Order 14042: Survival Guide for Federal Contractors (An Analysis of What We Know, What We Think, and What We Don’t Know About President Biden’s COVID-19 Executive Order for Federal Contractor," 2022