Government Contracts Counsel Matthew Solomson Joins Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Sidley Austin LLP announced today that it has added Matthew Solomson as counsel in the firm's government contracts practice in Washington, D.C. Mr. Solomson will concentrate on government contracts counseling and litigation as well as construction litigation, civil fraud defense and other claims litigation against the United States before the Court of Federal Claims and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. His practice includes clients in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, manufacturing and defense contracting sectors.

“Matt's significant first-chair litigation experience will be a great addition to our growing government contracts practice,” said Carter G. Phillips, managing partner of the firm's Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm's Management Committee.

Mr. Solomson's experience extends to disputes involving every aspect of the procurement process and contract lifecycle, including: contract formation, administration and termination; pre- and post-award bid protests; constructive change claims and requests for equitable adjustment; cardinal change and breach of contract claims; and performance evaluation challenges. He has provided advice regarding, or has litigated cases involving, a wide range of procurement-related statutes and regulations, in particular, the Tucker Act, the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), the False Claims Act (FCA), the Forfeiture of Fraudulent Claims Act (FFCA) and an extensive array of Federal Acquisition Regulation provisions.

“Sidley has a record of experience and success in resolving a wide array of cases between private industry and federal, state, local and foreign governments,” said Mr. Solomson. “My government contracts focus will complement the wealth of knowledge that already exists in the practice.”

Prior to joining Sidley, Mr. Solomson was a Trial Attorney with the Commercial Litigation Branch (National Courts Section) of the United States Department of Justice, where he was a member of the CDA litigation team. At the Justice Department, he represented a wide variety of the largest military and civilian Federal government agencies. As part of Mr. Solomson's work at the Justice Department, he initiated and conducted fraud investigations of contractors, and actively litigated resulting defensive counterclaims under the FCA, the CDA's fraud provision and the FFCA.

In addition, Mr. Solomson counseled Justice Department officials regarding proposed government contracts legislation, the Executive Office of the President (Office of Management and Budget) on proposed legal reforms, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on electronic discovery and document retention issues in civil litigation.

Mr. Solomson graduated, with honors and Order of the Coif, from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he served on the editorial staff of The Business Lawyer. He also earned an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Francis M. Allegra of the United States Court of Federal Claims. A frequent lecturer and author of articles on government contracts law, Mr. Solomson serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, where he teaches the subject.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's premier full-service law firms, with more than 1600 lawyers practicing in 17 U.S. and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Sidley is recognized for service and responsiveness. Sidley received the most first-tier national rankings of any U.S. law firm in the inaugural U.S.News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings for 2010. BTI, a Boston-based research and consulting firm, has named Sidley as one of only three firms to have been in the top ten of the BTI Client Service rankings every year since the inception of those rankings in 2001, and as number one in three of those years.

For purposes of the New York State Bar rules, this press release may be considered Attorney Advertising and the headquarters of the firm are Sidley Austin LLP 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300 and Sidley Austin LLP One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.853.7000. Prior results described herein do not guarantee a similar outcome.