Blank Rome 0artner Elizabeth N. Jochum will serve as a panelist at the Federal Bar Association (“FBA”) Qui Tam Section’s 2026 Qui Tam Conference, being held February 19 through 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C., with a virtual option available.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The Conference, themed “The FCA in an Era of Uncertainty,” will include sessions that dive into the practical side of False Claims Act (“FCA”) investigations and litigation, with deeply experienced litigators representing a variety of viewpoints—defense, relator, government, and more—sharing their guidance in strategic areas of FCA practice. Panelists will cover some of the legal areas that the U.S. Department of Justice has identified as priorities for enforcement and nitty-gritty questions facing any FCA practitioner. Blank Rome is a proud sponsor of this event and Blank Rome partner Jennifer A. Short is a member of the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Section Advisory Board.
Elizabeth’s session, “Federal Contracting and the FCA,” will take place on Thursday, February 19, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.
ABOUT THE SESSION
In this time of dynamic developments in federal procurement policy, the panel will examine the False Claims Act in the context of a variety of federal contracting preference scenarios. Panelists include a current Small Business Administration attorney, experienced FCA defense and government contracting attorneys, and a recent General Services Administration attorney who will discuss the False Claims Act and commercial item rules as well as false certification liability. They will also speak to aspects of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, various domestic preference requirements to acquire domestic products, and the Trade Agreement Act’s bar of end products from foreign countries that have not entered into trade agreements with the United States. They will also touch on fraud theories in connection with contract preferences and eligibility.
Panelists:
- Moderator: Cormac Connor, Partner, Husch Blackwell LLP
- Elliot Doomes, Senior Counsel, Husch Blackwell LLP
- Lynne Halbrooks, Senior Attorney, Cassidy Law PLLC
- Elizabeth Jochum, Partner, Blank Rome LLP
- Chris McClintock, Trial Attorney, U.S. Small Business Administration
Other sessions include:
- FCA 2025 Year in Review
- “‘Illegal DEI” as an FCA Trigger?
- Customs and Tariffs: False Claims Act Liability
- Cybersecurity Enforcement Under the False Claims Act
- Emergency-Based Medicine
- Constitutionality
- The Rising Importance of State FCAs
- FCA Liability for Anti-Kickback Statute Violations
- Establishing Damages in a False Certification Case
- What Makes a Viable Data Mining Case?
- Navigating Client Conflicts & Other Ethical Issues Under the FCA
CLE credit is available.
For more information and to register, please visit the event webpage.
