Mary Beth Bosco

Mary Beth Bosco is a partner in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office. She has 30 years of experience working with new and experienced government contractors, and focuses her practice on advising such organizations in contract compliance, transactional matters and how to navigate the federal marketplace.

With a substantial background in regulatory matters and litigation, Ms. Bosco counsels clients on the drafting of procurement manuals and implementation of compliance and training programs, including reporting requirements as well as audits and procurement fraud investigations. Furthermore, she represents companies, financial institutions and investment funds in connection with the due diligence review of government contractors throughout industries such as intelligence, healthcare and manufacturing. In particular, she assists companies holding facility clearances with foreign ownership and control issues.

Ms. Bosco has led the response and defense of complex concurrent agency and congressional investigations. She has also advised clients in investigations regarding Inspector General and the Department of Justice and audits conducted by the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs, and she has represented companies and individuals in numerous debarment and suspension proceedings. Ms. Bosco also applies her government contracting knowledge to False Claims Act litigation as well as trial and appellate proceedings.

Ms. Bosco advises Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and other government contractors regarding contractual and regulatory compliance issues. These have included the government contractor wage and employment requirements, cost accounting and audit issues, and cybersecurity rules unique to government contractors. She has also represented government contractors in bid protest matters, investigations and claims.

Beyond her law practice, Ms. Bosco regularly writes and speaks on a range of cybersecurity issues.

Ms. Bosco's representative matters include the following:

* Successfully defended an environmental remediation company in a False Claims Act trial case, an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court
* Successfully defended a contingency operations support contractor in a multi-prong investigation, including the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Congress, and suspension and debarment officials
* Successfully defended researchers against debarment proceedings relating to allegations of mischarging in connection with a government-funded program
* Handled dozens of due diligence reviews for government contractors in a variety of industries, including consulting, information technology, manufacturing and security
* Negotiated a compliance agreement with the government and advised the company during an agency audit of the company’s adherence to agreement, resulting in a letter of commendation to the company from the agency
* Worked closely with a large claims management company to establish new government contracts compliance programs
* Filed a motion to dismiss in a False Claims Act case against a major entertainment company, leading to a voluntary dismissal with prejudice by the private plaintiff