When Worlds Collide! Federal Small Business Programs: Opportunities and Requirements, and the False Claims Act

Thomas J. Kelleher Jr. is a Senior Partner for Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP.  He has extensive government and construction contract experience on the spectrum of issues involving bidding, changes, differing site conditions, delays, and terminations.  He has represented clients on hospital projects, airport facilities, research laboratories, convention facilities, prisons, federal and state courthouse and office complexes, and resort hotels and has practiced before various federal government boards of contract appeals, as well as federal and state courts.  In addition, he has represented clients in mediations, as well as arbitration proceedings. Due to his extensive experience in federal government contracting, Mr. Kelleher served as Chair of the Federal Acquisition Regulation Committee for the Associated General Contractors of America, Inc. (“AGC”) from 1999-2003 and remains active in the leadership of AGC's Federal & Heavy Construction Division.  In addition, he is also a member of the AGC’s Corps of Engineers Committee, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Committee, Governmental Affairs Committee, and the AGC Contract Documents Forum.

Steven L. Reed is a partner in the Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, DC offices of Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP. He joined Smith Currie in 2007 and opened the firm’s Washington, DC office in 2008. Prior to this he was an Administrative Judge, Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) where from 2000-2006, he mediated, otherwise resolved, or adjudicated 136 appeals involving all types of contracts awarded by the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, NASA, the U.S. Postal Service, the Department of Justice, the Washington Metro bus and rail system, and the Panama Canal Commission. During 1994-2000, as an Administrative Judge with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Board of Contract Appeals (ENG BCA) and from 1988-1994, as a Hearing Examiner with the ENG BCA, Mr. Reed’s docket included 225 appeals addressing matters related to the Corps’ Civil Works program (locks, dams, navigation, and flood prevention), the Washington Metro rail system, the Panama Canal, and Saudi Arabian military facilities and foreign military sales transactions.