Stephen Bacon, Lisa Himes Featured in Law360’s Midyear Government Contracts Coverage

Rogers Joseph O’Donnell PC shareholder Stephen L. Bacon and of counsel Lisa N. Himes were quoted in a pair of Law360 articles reviewing key government contracts litigation from the first six months of 2026 and previewing what’s ahead in the second half. 

In Law360’s midyear report, Bacon addressed a pair of U.S. Court of Federal Claims rulings on past performance evaluations, including Noblis MSD LLC v. U.S. and ASRC Federal Infrastructure Support LLC v. U.S. He said the cases underscore the risks contractors take when leaning on an affiliate’s track record in a proposal without clearly tying that experience to how the work will actually get done.

“What those cases really highlight is that when you rely on one of your affiliates’ past performance in your proposal, you really need to be careful to make an appropriate connection between the past performance of the affiliate that you’re citing and how that affiliate is going to actually execute the work that you’re intending to perform in response to the government solicitation,” Bacon said.

Also in the midyear recap, Himes discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s April ruling in Hencely v. Fluor Corp., in which the justices held 6-3 that a veteran’s state tort claims against the contractor were not preempted by the combatant activities exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act. Himes said the decision will make it harder for contractors to secure early dismissal of similar suits.

“With the Supreme Court going against the contractor here, it will lead to more of these tort suits not being dismissed early on,” Himes said.

In a companion piece previewing cases to watch in the second half of 2026, Bacon weighed in on Anthropic’s ongoing challenges to the Pentagon’s designation of the AI company as a supply chain risk.

“There is clearly tension between some statements of the government officials about what the real reason is behind this designation, and the broad discretion that courts typically give to the executive branch in connection with decisions about national security,” Bacon said. “So, it will be interesting to see how that plays out.”

Bacon represents contractors, subcontractors and other clients in government contracts and construction disputes involving federal, state and local public projects. His practice includes bid protests, contract claims and litigation arising from public procurement matters. 

Himes focuses her practice primarily on government contracts matters, with significant experience asserting unique federal doctrines and defenses. She also specializes in cyber, national security, data security and privacy matters, particularly those involving controlled unclassified information, foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) issues and cyber breach matters.