Perkins Coie has added Andrew Shipley as Partner and John Henault as Of Counsel in the Government Contracts practice in Washington, D.C. Shipley joins from Northrop Grumman Corporation where he was an Assistant General Counsel, and Henault joins from Cooley LLP where he was a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation group.
“Andy and John are outstanding lawyers and great additions to our Government Contracts practice in Washington D.C. Each brings a unique background and valuable experience to the group” said Rich Clifford, Firmwide Chair of the Government Contracts practice. “Andy has extensive in-house counsel experience and proven trial and case management skills and John is a highly motivated and talented litigator. Together they will greatly enhance our ability to meet the litigation needs of our clients in a time of significant budgetary pressures and intensified government enforcement measures.”
Shipley has been practicing law for over 25 years and has experience with domestic and international litigation in matters including the False Claims Act, government contracts, bid protests, ERISA class actions, patent infringement, environmental, employment, securities, product liability, bankruptcy and commercial cases, as well as government and internal investigations.
Henault concentrates his practice on litigation, particularly government contracts and fraud litigation. He has been engaged in numerous government and internal investigations involving the False Claims Act and anti-corruption laws. He has represented both individuals and corporations in responding to grand jury subpoenas, and in negotiations with state and federal prosecutors.
Shipley is a member of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s Federal Practice Task Force and Corporate Counsel Committee Membership Task Force. He served on the Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association (WMACCA) Board of Directors from January 2008 to March 2012 and was the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of WMACCA’s Litigation Forum for in-house litigators. In 2007, he was named Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year for the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area by the Association of Corporate Counsel. From 2008 to 2011, Shipley chaired Street Law, a diversity pipeline program for high schools in the greater metropolitan DC area. He writes and speaks regularly at seminars across the country on topics such as managing the relationship between in-house and outside counsel, negotiation ethics, effective ADR strategies, setting litigation reserves and the economic loss doctrine.
Henault previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions. In the Civil Division, he defended against allegations of employment discrimination, Constitutional torts against federal employees and violations of the Federal Tort Claims Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Freedom of Information Act. In the Criminal Division, he prosecuted cases primarily involving firearms and narcotics violations, and conducted more than twenty jury and non-jury trials.
From 1988-1992, Henault served in the United States Marine Corps. During his active duty, he served in both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He received numerous personal recognitions, awards and commendations.
In 2011, Law360 named Perkins Coie the “Government Contracts Group of the Year.” The Government Contracts group represents major defense, information technology and civilian agency contractors in bid protests, claims litigation, False Claims Act cases, suspension and debarment, and internal and government investigations. Attorneys also provide counseling on a wide variety of issues, including commercial item contracting, domestic preference statutes, export controls/ITAR and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
