Todd Steggerda is Chair of the firm's Government Investigations and White Collar Litigation department, which was recently recognized by Law360 as a Practice Group of the Year. In a dynamic practice spanning nearly 20 years in Washington, Todd has resolved a diverse range of high-stakes government investigations and regulatory enforcement matters for companies operating in the defense, national security, technology, healthcare and other sectors, including dozens of matters investigated by the civil and criminal divisions of the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense.
As an Annapolis graduate and former Navy pilot with a deep understanding of the aerospace and defense industry, Todd has led investigations for a wide range of clients providing advanced weapons systems and other products and services to the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. As Lead Counsel, Todd’s representations include qui tam whistleblower suits involving claims of procurement fraud brought under the False Claims Act, high-visibility DOD IG investigations, many investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, claims litigation before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, congressional inquiries involving defense and government contracting issues, GAO and COFC bid protests, compliance/ethics and mandatory disclosure, and a variety of other advising and litigious matters. Reflecting his extensive experience in the government contract investigations and litigation arena, Todd serves as Chair of the Government Contracts practice at McGuireWoods, and he was recently appointed to the Law360 Aerospace & Defense Editorial Board.
Todd has represented leading contractors in enforcement proceedings and controversies involving the Department of Defense; the Department of Justice; the departments of the Air Force, Navy and Army; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Contract Audit Agency; the Special Inspector General for Iraq/Afghanistan Reconstruction; the U.S. Agency for International Development; the SBA; the Department of State; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and the General Services Administration.
Todd also litigates matters before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and has handled a wide range of contractor-related litigation in both state and federal courts, often involving sophisticated advanced weapons technology and complex government contracting issues. He also responds to congressional inquiries related to defense and national security. In addition to leading internal investigations and handling regulatory enforcement actions, Todd has resolved disputes over contractor-related projects and programs in foreign jurisdictions, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Russia and Jordan.
Stemming from his previous service as Chief Counsel to a Presidential Campaign, Todd’s practice also focuses on the representation of political campaigns, party committees, political operatives, and other entities involved in politically-charged litigation, congressional and other government investigations, and regulatory enforcement matters before the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice.
Before joining McGuireWoods, Todd was a partner practicing in the litigation, investigations and enforcement arena at a global law firm. He was chief counsel to John McCain’s 2008 presidential election campaign.
Lead Counsel on a wide range of compliance-and ethics-related internal investigations and agency enforcement actions, including a DCIS inquiry of alleged nonconformance with technical specifications in the aerospace metal supply chain to DOD primes, a DOD investigation of alleged bribery and kickbacks associated with a government contract for large-scale construction services performed in Afghanistan, a DOJ inquiry involving a defense contractor's recruitment of government personnel, an internal investigation involving the treatment of health insurance premium costs under the Cost Accounting Standards, and several internal investigations of allegations of bribes and improper gifts and gratuities involving international subsidiaries.
Lead Counsel on several high-visibility DOD IG investigations into allegations of procurement fraud involving the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies.
Lead Counsel on government contract claims litigation before the COFC and the ASBCA, including a $50 million settlement from the U.S. Army for alleged copyright infringement of a sophisticated logistics software package and a successful three-week trial before the ASBCA on a breach-of-contract claim for a top aerospace and defense company, valued at approximately $400 million, against the U.S. Air Force relating to satellite launch services.
Lead Counsel on numerous qui tam whistleblower actions in federal district court involving allegations of procurement fraud under the False Claims Act, including a recently announced settlement with DOJ and DOD resolving a $90 million claim against the joint venture of two top defense companies relating to alleged over-charging on national security contracts, resolving allegations of false testing certifications on a $250 million telecommunications system built in Iraq in 2005 and a settlement with the DOJ and GSA, resolving allegations of noncompliance with a federal supply schedule contract.
Lead Counsel on numerous claims, investigations and other disputes pertaining to construction projects and other programs in foreign jurisdictions, including Jordan, Pakistan, Russia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lead Counsel on a variety of disputes among primes, subcontractors and competitors in the government contracts arena, including matters involving a favorable settlement of federal court litigation of breach of contract and tort claims by a supplier of advanced laser technology to the U.S. Army, against a subcontractor pursuant to a complex technology transfer agreement; and a multimillion-dollar dispute between a prime contractor and its sales consultant involving disputed treatment under the Cost Accounting Standards of sales agent service fees under a government contract valued at more than $1 billion.
Lead Counsel on bid protest and related proceedings before the GAO and SBA, including a pre-award GAO protest of a solicitation by the Joint Contracting Command/Multinational Forces-Iraq pertaining to a sophisticated weapons scanning system; a high-stakes GAO bid protest (as intervener), defending a top federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) against a collateral attack, alleging organizational conflicts of interest (OCI) and other Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) violations by a competitor under a multibillion-dollar FFRDC contract with the U.S. Air Force; and the successful defense of an SBA size protest (and subsequent appeal to the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals) of a government contract award valued at more than $500 million.
Representation of and advice to defense contractors and other clients pertaining to congressional inquiries, legislative strategy development, political and election law, and other issues involving various House and Senate committees, including the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight.
Lead Counsel on several engagements involving strategy development on FAR mandatory disclosure obligations associated with alleged improprieties on government contracts and involving the resolution of suspension and debarment issues and proceedings before the various agencies within the DOD and at USAID.
Representation of a host of clients on agency-level government contract claims, including a high-value claim under a U.S. host-country contracting program at USAID for international construction services in the Middle East and a multimillion-dollar claim resolution between the FDIC and one of its most important prime contractors.
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Aerospace & Defense, Law360, 2018 - present
Member, Section of Public Contract Law, American Bar Association
Member, Board of Contract Appeals Bar Association
Member, DC Advisory Committee, Operation Homefront
Member, Federalist Society