In a noteworthy addition to its leading government contracts practice, Venable LLP announced that John M. Farenish, most recently General Counsel of the Defense Department’s Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), has joined the firm as a partner.
Mr. Farenish spent 31 years in various regulatory, compliance and prosecutorial capacities with the federal government, beginning with the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps and including seven years with the Department of the Navy. He served for the last 13 years with the Defense Contract Audit Agency, starting as deputy general counsel before becoming general counsel in 2003. He also spent several years with the DoD’s Inspector General’s office handling criminal matters related to federal acquisition policy.
Brock Landry, chairman of Venable’s Government Division, said, “John Farenish is a unique resource and a wonderful catch for our Government Contracts group. He has sat at the head of the table reviewing contractor work under challenge by the Defense Department and has either investigated or passed judgment on every conceivable type of question likely to come up in an agency audit – from cost accounting standards to allowable expenses and statutory or regulatory interpretation, as well as ethics concerns. Our contractor clients will benefit tremendously from his experience and insights in ensuring that their work is DoD-compliant and can withstand the toughest audit. Especially in the current environment, with contracts undergoing enormous scrutiny and second-guessing, John’s long tenure at DCAA and other key government procurement agencies, makes him an invaluable asset for our contractor division.”
The DCAA is responsible for auditing the financial records and ethics credentials of government contractors and is charged with investigating legal, ethical, and accounting breaches by the contractor industry. The Agency has more than 4,700 employees worldwide and an annual operating budget of about $530 million. The Agency’s review of contracts begins before award and continues through completion of performance. With its own annual budget of approximately $740 billion, the Defense Dept. is the largest-spending federal agency.
The DCAA also provides the DoD litigation support in the event of legal disputes between contractors and the government. In 2010 the Agency was responsible for saving the federal government approximately $2.9 billion – more than $5 for every dollar of its operating budget. In addition to directing the DCAA’s large legal operations, Mr. Farenish provided legal counsel governing all areas of the agency’s audit mission and any contractor litigation in which it was involved or had an interest. He also counseled the Department of Justice and other DOD agencies on a broad range of matters, from fraud and tort claims to Freedom of Information Act challenges and workplace litigation.
Prior to DCAA, Mr. Farenish served as counsel in the Department of the Navy’s Procurement Integrity Office, where he was responsible for contractor suspension and debarment proceedings worldwide. Over seven years, he supervised 2,500 cases of suspension or debarment, recovering $450 million in taxpayer funds. In 1999, Mr. Farenish was awarded the Creekmore Chair by the Judge Advocate General’s Learning Center and School for his work in preventing contract fraud.
He also held criminal investigations posts for the Dept. of Defense Inspector General and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, handling contractor fraud and other often politically sensitive cases, frequently in close partnership with the Justice Dept.
Mr. Farenish began his government career on active duty with the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps, handling prosecutions and courts-martial; serving as a legal counsel for the multibillion-dollar U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command procurement program; and participating in litigation and settlement negotiations with contractors. He led the grand jury investigation of a major defense contractor that resulted in an $88 million government recovery.
“Venable’s Government Contracts group has long been regarded as one of the elite practices and I’ve known many of the group’s members for many years,” Mr. Farenish said. “I expect to feel acclimated on Day One and am looking forward to working with the firm’s many contractor clients in helping manage their own agency reviews and litigation matters.
“The DoD is in the midst of making a number of changes to its defense contract audit system,” he added. “Uncertainty has set in among many contractors as to the accounting and compliance standards that DCAA is looking for. With my background in contractor ethics and regulatory interpretation, I believe I can help Venable’s clients understand what DCAA expects and how to respond to audit requests.”
Mr. Farenish has written and lectured extensively on aspects of government contracting work, including ethics, compliance, criminal investigations, and the conditions for contractor suspension and debarment.
A 1972 graduate of Villanova University, Mr. Farenish earned his J.D. from Delaware Law School of Widener University in 1976. He received a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College and also completed education programs at the Combined Arms Services Staff School, Command and General Staff College, and through the Judge Advocate General Basic and Advanced Courses. Mr. Farenish also graduated from the Federal Executive Institute, a government leadership and training program.
