Iraq Contractors Hire High-Profile Firms
Some big-name law firms are representing Iraq contractors under investigation for defrauding the government.
The government may have lost as much as $10 billion in fraud related to Iraq contracts, the National Law Journal reports. Investigators are looking at about 80 cases of possible misconduct and have referred about 20 cases to the Justice Department for prosecution.
The legal newspaper says law firms representing government contractors under scrutiny include:
–Patton Boggs of Washington, D.C., representing Halliburton as it faces congressional scrutiny.
–Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Vinson & Elkins of Houston, representing former Halliburton subsidiary KBR Inc., which has a 25.7 billion contract to rebuild oil services in Iraq.
– Brand Law Group of Washington, D.C., representing Fluor, which has a $1.1 billion water and sewage contract in Iraq.
Lawyer Stan Brand of the Brand Law Group tells contractors they could face more problems trying to stymie a government investigation than for contract improprieties.
His advice to companies under investigation: “Don’t throw records away. … Don’t conspire with people to cook their testimony. … Deal with the issues head-on because what prosecutors love is to catch people obstructing the investigation or cooking their testimony or consorting with others to change their story.”
