Managing Principal

Antonacci PLLC

2013 to Present

Alexandria, Virginia

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»           Represent Design-Build Contractor in design and construction disputes with subcontractors arising out of $340MM road construction project in Northern Virginia.

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»           Advise U.S. government contractor with respect to its prime and subcontracts with the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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◦ Manage all compliance issues. Negotiate subcontracts, teaming agreements, and non-disclosure  agreements with various prime and subcontractors. Advise regarding bid protests.

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»           Represent USAID contractor in dispute with U.K. subcontractor’s Administrators in bankruptcy.

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»           Successfully represented concrete subcontractor in three-day jury trial in Arlington County Circuit Court. Case resulted in $71,500 verdict for client and complete denial of general contractor's $15,000 counterclaim for damages and attorneys' fees.

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◦ Successfully petitioned the Supreme Court of Virginia for leave to appeal the trial court's erroneous order setting aside jury's $71,500 verdict.

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◦ Successfully argued case to full seven-justice panel, which reinstated jury's $71,500 verdict and remanded for new trial on $45,000 invoice that the trial court had erroneously struck.

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»           Represent public real estate investment trust with national footprint in drafting and negotiating contracts for hundreds of commercial transactions related to the development of new retail, residential and mixed-use buildings, renovation of existing facilities, and property management and maintenance contracts.

Advise on legal issues relating to federal and state ecological preservation grants.

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»          Obtained and collected $56,000 judgment (damages and attorneys’ fees), in Prince William County Circuit Court, for homeowner against contractor who failed to complete renovation project.

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»          Represented plaintiff in federal RICO, fraud, and conspiracy case in the Northern District of Illinois.

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◦ Case involved extortion, racketeering, mail fraud, wire fraud, and falsification of court documents.

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◦ Argued appeal before the Seventh Circuit and petitioned SCOTUS for writ of certiorari.

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»           Successfully resolved construction dispute after putting on client’s case at arbitration.

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»           Manage multimillion dollar capital raise for AI client. Draft all related agreements and advise on same.

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»           Represent local D.C. developer regarding construction and engineering issues.

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Of Counsel

Gordon Rappold & Miller LLC 

June 2012 to June 2013 

Chicago, IL

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»           Represent clients in commercial disputes, including allegations of improper business practices.

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»           Organize various business entities; draft corporate documents and financing agreements.

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Legal Consultant

Sol Vista Consulting LLC; Compliance LP; and Special Counsel LP  

2010 to 2011

Washington, DC

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»           Developed contracting structure between energy-consulting firm, owner, contractors, and engineers for implementation of energy-efficiency modernization project on upscale hotel in Washington, D.C.

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◦ Acted as liaison between energy-consulting firm and its project manager, owner and owner's counsel, general contractor, and subcontractors.

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◦ Drafted and negotiated all related contracts, including General Contractor Agreement, Owner’s Representative Agreement, and Project Manager Agreement.

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»           Provide litigation support services to law firms representing clients in antitrust investigations,

disputes between private parties, and internal investigations; perform associated research and analysis.

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»           Utilized numerous e-discovery platforms, including Relativity, Concordance, Documatrix, and eZReview.

 

Associate

Holland & Knight, LLP

2008 to 2010

Washington, DC

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»           Managed contract administration issues for Iraqi contractor with the U.S. Government in Iraq.

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◦ Advised client on myriad contract administration issues; drafted dozens of related letters to various

U.S. Government personnel and counsel.

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◦ Drafted and filed four claims on behalf of Iraqi client—prevailed on all claims in their entirety.

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◦ Drafted termination settlement proposals on contracts terminated for convenience.

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»           Successfully prosecuted fraud and conspiracy case for general contractor in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Case involved 18 defendants and eight causes of action, including fraudulent

conveyance, common law and statutory conspiracy, two counts of civil RICO violations, and veil piercing.

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◦ Developed causes of action and theories of case that arose out of heavily disputed debtors interrogatories proceedings, and related appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia, pursuant to a $4M consent judgment rendered in Fairfax County circuit court.

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◦ Prevailed on three responses in opposition to motions to stay proceedings, dismiss all causes of action, and strike allegations. Settled case prior to second hearing on pre-answer motions.

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»           Represented seller in second request pursuant to Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

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◦ Managed review and production of documents pursuant to specifications propounded by the U.S. DOJ.

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◦ Orchestrated efforts of 135 contract attorneys through staffing (Hudson Legal) and database (Kroll) vendors. Developed protocols for review of privileged documents; generated relevant search terms;

trained contract attorneys on related issues; coordinated quality control efforts of junior associates.

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◦ Managed database vendor’s rolling productions of responsive documents; coordinated efforts with counsel for purchaser; worked with DOJ counsel to ensure compliance with certification requirements.

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»           The List Project: Performed pro bono work representing Iraqis seeking refugee status in the United States.

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»           Successfully argued numerous motions in Virginia circuit court.

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»           Took and defended depositions in civil matters, both in Virginia state court and the SDNY.

 

Associate

Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald, LLP

2006 to 2008

McLean, Virginia

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»           Successfully represented client in contract disputes with the U.S. Department of State in connection with the construction of embassies and consular offices in Haiti, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Jamaica.

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»           Successfully protested the awards of multi-year, multi-billion-dollar indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts by the U.S. Army to competitors of firm client. Multimax, Inc., et al., B-298249.6, et al., Oct. 24, 2006, 2006 CPD ¶ 165.

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»           Litigated cases before state and federal courts and other tribunals, including the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, and the American Arbitration Association.

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Civilian Honors Attorney

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

2004 to 2006

Huntsville, Alabama

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»           Selected for Civilian Honors Program as lead counsel for Corps’s Chemical Demilitarization Program, which focuses on destroying stockpiles of chemical weapons in the U.S. and the Russian Federation.

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»           Temporary assignment in Baghdad, Iraq; performed legal review of contract actions and assisted in the development of contracting policies throughout the Gulf Region Division.

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»           Managed all legal aspects of administration of cost-reimbursable military construction contracts, including change orders, contractor and government claims, contract audits, and contractor payment matters; drafted related memoranda and contracting officer’s final decisions.

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»           Managed all aspects of mediation of contractor and government claims before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals. Solely presented the government’s case on behalf of the United States.

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»           Reviewed and analyzed executive agreements with the Russian Ministry of Defense; performed associated research and analysis of U.S., Russian, and international legal issues.

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»           Presented paper re international government contracting at 2005 Chemical Weapons Conference, Edinburgh.

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EDUCATION

 

University of Wisconsin Law School

August 2001 to May 2004

Madison, Wisconsin

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»           Juris Doctor awarded May 2004, cum laude                                                        

»           Wisconsin Moot Court Board Jessup International Law—second place overall; third best memorial

»           Wisconsin International Law Journal—Associate Managing Editor; Associate Symposium Editor

»           Judicial Extern for the Hon. Lynn Adelman, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of WI (2003)

»           Honors Intern for the Honorable Mary Walker, General Counsel USAF, Washington, D.C. (2003)

»           Honors Intern for the International Prisoner Transfer Unit, U.S. DOJ, Washington, D.C. (2002)

»           Research Assistant to Prof. Michael Scott, Director, Center for Problem-Oriented Policing (2003-04)

 

Loras College

August 1995 to May 1999 

Dubuque, Iowa

                                                                                                                        

»           Bachelor of Arts awarded May 1999, cum laude                                                

»           Majors: Classical Studies, Business

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PUBLICATIONS

 

»           Editor: Annual updates of West’s Federal Administrative Practice, Chapters 18 (Court of Federal Claims) and 19A (Attorneys’ Fees) (2007 to 2010).

»           Author: Advance Payments from Prime Contractors to Their Subs: Can the Risk of Non-performance Be Pushed onto the Government?, The Clause, Board of Contract Appeals Bar Association (Fall 2006).

»           Researcher: Problem-Oriented Guides for Police: Drunk Driving, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (Feb. 2006).

»           Author: Lessons from LaGrand: An Argument for the Domestic Enforceability of Treaty-Based Rights under International Prisoner Transfer Treaties, 3 SANTA CLARA J. INT’L L. 22 (2005), available at https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/scujil/vol3/iss1/2/.

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