Susan A. Mitchell
FAX: 213.243.6330
Experience
Susan A. Mitchell has been a litigator for 30 years, focusing on Civil False Claims Act and other government contracts litigation, internal investigations, and compliance audits. Ms. Mitchell regularly appears before the United States District Courts, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and California and other state trial courts.
Ms. Mitchell was the senior litigator during an eight-month trial in which she successfully defended a major U.S. aerospace company in a $60,000,000 claim involving allegations of fraudulently prepared "level two" engineering drawings. She has managed litigation on behalf of another major U.S. aerospace company involving multi-million dollar claims arising from an alleged waiver of specifications during Critical Design Review. Ms. Mitchell served as one of the two litigators representing The Boeing Company in the Peace Shield termination for default case, one of the largest such cases in the history of government contract litigation.
Ms. Mitchell has managed litigation in several high-profile Civil False Claims Act cases, including representation of one of the defendants in Allison Engine Co. v. United States ex rel. Sanders. She conducts CAS and internal compliance investigations and provides advise on FAR Mandatory Disclosure Rules and other federal regulations and statutes. She was the lead partner in the successful defense of a $60,000,000 claim by a French company against a Japanese company in a two-year arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Mitchell, who was Managing Editor of the Minnesota Law Review, also has been litigation counsel in civil jury trials involving breach of contract, unfair competition and employment disputes.
Education
- J.D., University of Minnesota Law School, 1980
- B.A., University of Minnesota, 1976
Bar Admissions
- California
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Supreme Court of California
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
Publications:
- "Doing Business with the Federal Government: Five Common Areas of Litigation Risks," The 2013 McKenna Long & Aldridge California Litigation Guide, January 2013. (co-authored with Gail D. Zirkelbach)
- "FERA Retroactivity Still Controversial Under FCA" Law 360, November 2012 (with Matt Carter).
- "Implied Certification Liability Under the False Claims Act," West Briefing Papers, March 2011 (with Tom Abbott and Agustin Orozco).
- "D.C. Circuit Addresses FCA ‘Implied Certification' Theory in United States v. Science Applications Int'l Corp." BNA Federal Contracts Report, December 16, 2010 (with Jason Workmaster and Phillip Carter).
- “Investigations Checklist: Best Practices for Organizing and Conducting Attorney-Client Privileged Internal Investigations,” August 2010, American Bar Association, Section of Public Contract Law (co-authored with David Ginsberg)
- "The FAR Mandatory Disclosures Rule: Emerging Practices and Recurring Issues," BNA's Federal Contracts Report, July 13, 2010
- "Changes to FCA Public Disclosure Bar Open Door to More Qui Tam Filings," BNA's Federal Contracts Report, April 20, 2010 (co-authored with Brian Cruz and Mary Buxton)
- "Proposed Change To Federal Acquisition Regulation Would Extend Some Personal Conflicts Of Interest Restrictions To Government Contractor Employees," Bloomberg Law Reports, December 3, 2009 (co-authored with Alison Doyle)