Pillsbury Again Hailed as Government Contracts Practice Group of the Year

Law360 was quick to cite the uncommon breadth of Pillsbury’s Government Contracts practice, which has substantial experience across multiple disciplines. The group is led by “a core contingent of 20 ‘card-carrying’ government contracts attorneys” but also encompasses an equivalent number of lawyers whose skills are regularly called upon for the benefit of clients.

“We are strong in a number of core areas of government contracts law,” said practice section co-leader John Jensen. “We don’t have just one practice area that draws clients to our firm, we have a handful where we have critical mass and a lot of experience.”

The group’s sizeable presence on both coasts was also identified as an important differentiator by Law360. With large teams of seasoned government contracts lawyers in Los Angeles, Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, Pillsbury provides a level of client service that few firms match.

“We may have competitors who are as good as us in Washington or northern Virginia, but we don’t think we have any competitors as broad as we are bi-coastally,” noted co-leader Michael Rizzo.

The Law360 profile highlights some of the many significant government contracts matters undertaken by Pillsbury in 2019, from high-stakes bid protest wins to complex mergers and acquisitions. The firm’s submission included such a wide array of impressive work that Law360 was unable to cover some notable successes thoroughly. Examples include the multiple successful cost and accounting matters led by Kevin Slattum, important bid protest and small business victories secured by Dick Oliver, and Alex Tomaszczuk’s numerous claims and spent nuclear fuel wins.

But the practice’s impressive track record of success notwithstanding, practice leadership sees an even brighter future ahead. According to Rizzo, several of the partners responsible for the firm’s biggest wins in 2019 are “a generation younger” than the practice group leaders, and have long careers ahead of them.

The younger generation includes Todd Canni, who leads Pillsbury’s successful and productive suspension and debarment practice from Los Angeles. It includes David Dixon and Alex Ginsberg in Northern Virginia, who led many of the successful protest matters that Law360 noted.  It also includes recent lateral Marques Peterson, who has a diverse international government contract practice in Washington, D.C. 

Jensen and Rizzo commented that they are fortunate to lead such a talented team.

“We’re really well-positioned from a generational standpoint on both coasts, moving forward,” Rizzo said.

Click here to read Pillsbury’s 2019 Government Contracts Practice Group of the Year profile.