Blank Rome partner Luke W. Meier was recently named a Law360 2024 MVP. The MVP Awards recognize attorneys who have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals. He is one of only four attorneys nationwide recognized in the Government Contracts category.
Below is an excerpt of Luke's MVP profile.
Luke Meier of Blank Rome LLP helped government contractor Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure hang onto a $45 billion nuclear cleanup contract, one of the largest services contracts ever, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Government Contracts MVPs.
His biggest accomplishment:
Meier said helping Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, a joint venture between BWXT Technologies Inc., Fluor Corp. and Amentum Services Inc., known as H2C, keep a $45 billion contract to clean up the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford nuclear site in Washington state was a "tremendous accomplishment."
"It was a challenging and complex case that was very hard fought," Meier said. "It had novel issues and top-notch opposing counsel."
One of those novel issues involved overcoming a renewed bid protest from HTDA — a joint venture of Atkins Nuclear Secured LLC, Jacobs Technology Inc. and Westinghouse Government Services LLC. HTDA had unsuccessfully argued that the DOE improperly changed its acquisition policy to reaward the contract to H2C after a previous disqualification because of a lapse in its registration in the federal System for Award Management.
However, in October, the Court of Federal Claims ruled the DOE properly deemed H2C eligible for the disputed contract despite the earlier disqualification and that the registration requirement for federal contractors only kicks in when they submit final proposals in response to government solicitations.
"It was a tremendous team effort by our group," Meier said. "I'm very proud of the way we pulled together and kept battling for our client."
To read the full profile, please click here.
"MVP: Blank Rome's Luke Meier," by Britain Eakin was published in Law360 on November 19, 2024.
