WASHINGTON, DC, April 18, 2024: Today, we welcome former Covington & Burling government contracts lawyer Alex Hastings as Morgan Lewis continues to expand its robust regulatory practice in Washington, DC. Joining as a partner, Alex will continue to advise companies that do business with government entities by counseling them through complex regulatory issues and M&A transactions.
“Many of our clients do business or collaborate with the US government, and they need sophisticated legal counsel,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “Alex brings added strength to our government contracts practice through a full suite of regulatory counseling that will benefit a broad spectrum of clients from pure-play defense contractors to commercial companies who are starting out in this area.”
Alex helps aerospace and defense, life science, technology and commercial companies navigate legal and compliance matters that impact their business throughout the government contracting lifecycle, including issues related to intellectual property, supply chain challenges, cybersecurity, small business status, and conflicts of interests. Alex also advises transaction teams on the buy and sell sides involving government contractor due diligence reviews and transaction document negotiations.
“Alex joins forces with Barron Avery, who leads our government contracts practice and joined us in February 2022, and Justin Weitz, who spent nearly a decade in the DOJ’s Criminal Division investigating and prosecuting government contracts and procurement fraud before his arrival in 2022," said J. Gordon Cooney Jr., leader of the firm’s global litigation practice. “Adding the right skills to build strength on strength to support our clients is always our first priority.”
Alex is the fifth partner with a deep regulatory background to join the firm in the last two weeks—four of which are based in the DC office—as we continue to strategically enrich our capabilities. Specifically, the firm recently welcomed April Nelson, Rachel Raphael, and Mohamed Awan—a consumer class action and product liability trio providing counsel in the highly regulated automotive industry, and transportation regulatory leader, R. Latane Montague.