Lawrence Ruggiero

Lawrence Ruggiero is a Partner in the firm’s Government Contracts practice and brings more than 30 years of corporate, major law firm and government experience to his clients. Mr. Ruggiero counsels companies of all sizes, including multinational firms in the Fortune 500, on navigating the federal procurement system, with an emphasis on compliance, government and internal investigations, business system audit support, and formation of joint ventures and teaming arrangements to support contract capture efforts. With a long tenure serving as an in-house counsel, he brings a unique, hands-on perspective to contract drafting and negotiation, organizational conflict of interest avoidance and mitigation, cost accounting and defective pricing issues, small and disadvantaged business contracting, and compliance with the Trade Agreements Act and the Buy America Act.

Mr. Ruggiero also has extensive litigation experience in matters emerging at every stage of the procurement cycle, including bid protests, customer and prime-subcontractor dispute resolution, responses to cure and show cause notices, and termination defense and settlement counseling. He has particular expertise in the False Claims Act, the Mandatory Disclosure Rules, and in responding to present responsibility inquiries and notices of proposed suspension or debarment.

Before his nearly 25 years as an in-house counsel at Science Applications International Corporation (formerly part of Leidos, Inc.), Mr. Ruggiero was a warranted contracting officer in the Unites States Navy. In that capacity, he administered several multi-million-dollar construction and service contracts, processed contract claims and termination settlements, and testified before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.

Representative Experience

• Advised on major protests and litigation, Contract Disputes Act claims, False Claims Act issues, and drafting and negotiating agreements in support of critical programs
• Led multiple internal investigations concerning various federal procurement and related statutes, including the Anti-Kickback Act, the Procurement Integrity Act, the Truthful Cost or Pricing Data statute, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Lead counsel in several major cases, including a successful False Claims Act judgment appeal (626 F.3d 1257 (D.C. Cir. 2010)) and three arbitrations stemming from a $300 million security contract in support of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
• Primary legal representative on the team charged with designing and executing a $4 billion spin-off entity from Leidos, Inc.
• Counsel to a rapidly growing international telecommunications company with both GSA Schedule contract sales and commercial sales to telecommunications resellers
• Led the legal effort on several major procurements, including a $100 million transatlantic cable system, multiple complex master equipment and software agreements, and an $80 million capacity swap