Rising Star: Blank Rome’s Stephanie M. Harden
Blank Rome Partner Stephanie M. Harden has been named a 2021 Rising Star by Law360 in recognition of her legal accomplishments in the category of Government Contracts. Below is an excerpt of her profile, as published by Law360.
Stephanie Harden of Blank Rome LLP has successfully defended three of Oshkosh Defense’s U.S. Army contracts to replace tactical vehicles, earning her a spot among the government contract attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 Rising Stars.
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What motivates her:
In Washington, where Harden is based, the government contracts industry is vibrant, she said. The legal side of government contracts involves administrative law, litigation and internal investigations, she added.
Government contractors are subject to so many rules that new legal issues are continuously being raised in contract disputes, giving attorneys the opportunity to use their creativity to overcome these challenges for their clients, Harden said.
She said she has been practicing law in the government contracts sector since 2012 and continues to encounter new legal issues in her work.
“The idea that you can come into work and really substantially move a case forward by digging in and developing the issues and the arguments or the research has a lot of meaning to me and motivates me to keep at it week after week,” Harden said.
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How government contracts will change over the next 10 years:
Harden said that recent cyberattacks will likely lead to more emphasis on cybersecurity in the government contracts space. She said she thinks more government contracts will be awarded and government contractors will be held to higher cybersecurity standards.
Cybersecurity breaches and ransomware attacks create a lot of ethical issues for government contractors and how they have to handle these matters under their contracts, Harden said.
“I think we are going to see more of those issues as time goes on,” she said.
To read Stephanie’s full profile, please click here.