Dawn E. Stern

Partner

Global Co-Chair, Government Contracting Sector

Emaildawn.stern@us.dlapiper.com

About

Dawn Stern co-chairs DLA Piper's Government Contracts practice.

Dawn Stern is a Chambers-rated government contracts attorney that focuses her practice on providing counselling and litigation representation on a range of government contract matters.

Dawn assists clients at all stages of litigation in bid protests and Contract Disputes Act matters before the United States Government Accountability Office, the Boards of Contract Appeals and the United States Court of Federal Claims. Dawn also supports clients in litigation matters in Federal and State court involving government contracts issues such as disputes between prime and subcontractors arising under government contracts, and in investigations related to government contracts including False Claims Act or other Inspector General matters.

In addition to her litigation expertise, Dawn counsels clients on a wide range of government contracts issues including navigating the compliance obligations of government contractors and negotiations of subcontracts. Dawn also has a specific focus on advising clients on cybersecurity obligations that are unique to government contractors and is rated in Band 1 by Chambers for her Government Contracts Cybersecurity expertise.

Chambers USA has recognized Dawn "for her proficiency in advising government contractors on complex issues of compliance relating to cybersecurity obligation" and because "she is well versed in handling contentious government contracting matters, including bid protests and contract disputes." Chambers has also quoted clients who acknowledge Dawn as "great strategically and a pleasure to work with," "extraordinarily talented. Her writing and research is superb," "think[ing] two or three steps ahead” and able to "make suggestions with awareness of possible implications."

Prior to joining DLA Piper, Dawn served as a Trial Attorney in the National Courts Section of the United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, where she defended the government in bid protest and Contract Disputes Act cases before the United States Court of Federal Claims and United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She also clerked for the Honorable James I. Cohn of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Areas of FocusRegulatory and Government Affairs Government Contracting

Bar admissionsDistrict of ColumbiaFlorida

CourtsUnited States Court of Federal ClaimsSupreme Court of the United StatesUnited States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

EXPERIENCE

Representative Matters

Successfully defended against a bid protest filed by our client's former subcontractor resulting in the preservation of an award of a $38-million contract.
Successfully protested the Government's failure to conduct a reasonable best-value trade-off assessment resulting in the Government taking corrective action in a $50 million procurement.
Secured a preliminary injunction in district court in a dispute between a prime and subcontractor involving the misappropriate use of intellectual property exchanged during the performance of a government contract.
Successfully defended against two bid protests challenging a $170 million contract award to our client.
Conducted a cybersecurity assessment for a large commercial corporation in order to identify its government contracts cybersecurity compliance obligations and assess the company's receipt and creation of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) or other data requiring enhanced protections, and developed policies and trainings.
Served as a member of the firm's team that supported a leading technology company following a highly-publicized cybersecurity breach that impacted a number of its Government customers.
Reached a global resolution of six different claims under a Department of Defense contract involving approximately $100 million in government claims and $80 million in contractor claims which resulted in a substantial payment to our client.
Defended against a Government claim for disallowed costs of approximately $65 million.

Education

J.D., George Washington University Law School 2005
Order of the Coif
High Honors

B.S., Psychology, University of Florida 2000
Highest Honors

Awards

Chambers USA

Band 1, Government Contracts: Cybersecurity (2024)
Band 5, Nationwide Government Contracts (2023-2024)

The Legal 500 United States

Recommended, Government Contracts (2024)

Bylines

Seminars and Presentations

Presenter, "The False Claims Act and the impact of early Trump Administration actions," DLA Piper (February 13, 2025)
Speaker, PubK Government Contracts Annual Review Conference on "Statutes, Regulations, Executive Orders, and Policies," and specifically presented a segment on "Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)" (February 11, 2025)
Presenter, "Government Contracts: New FAR Rules on Cybersecurity and Supply Chains, AI Guidance," Stafford Webinars, (March 19, 2024)
Presenter, "Bid Protests," Pub K’s Government Contracts Annual Review 2024, (February 13, 2024)
Moderator, "Perspectives on the DHS Controlled Unclassified Information Protection Rule," ABA PCLS Cybersecurity Committee, (October 18, 2023)
Panelist, "CCDR Committee Meeting: Cost Claims in Government Contracts Disputes," (May 17, 2023)
Panelist, "Scope of Claim & Contracting Officer's Final Decision vs Scope of Government's Case," (February 16, 2022)
Panelist, "CMMC - New Government Requirements for Cybersecurity," (December 13, 2021)
Moderator, "Government Contracts Implications of Cybersecurity Executive Order," ABA Public Contract Law Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection Committee, (June 1, 2021)
Moderator/Presenter, "Contract Claims and Disputes Resolution," ABA Public Contract Law Section, (April 21, 2021)
Panelist, "Uniting Women in Cyber 2020 Symposium," Federal Publications Seminars, (October 28, 2020)
Panelist, "New False Claims Act Cases: Cybersecurity Requirements Expose Contractors to Liability," The George Washington University Law School, (November 14, 2019)
Panelist, "Cybersecurity Considerations in Bid Protests," ABA Public Contract Law Section, (November 5, 2019)
Moderator, "Agency Counsel Perspectives on Effective Protest Practice," ABA Public Contract Law Section, (February 19, 2019)
Panelist, "DoD Contracting: Key Developments and Trends," DLA Piper, (February 7, 2019)
Moderator, "Ask the Judges Panel," ABA Public Contract Law Section, Contract Claims and Disputes Resolution Committee, (May 9, 2018)
Moderator, The Use of Experts in Qui Tam Actions, Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Section Annual Conference, (February 27, 2018)
Panelist, ABA Public Contract Law Section, Bid Protest Committee, Washington, DC, (November 21, 2017)
Panelist, "Government Procurement Law Career Panel," The George Washington University Law School, (September 26, 2017)
Webinar Presenter, "Government Contracts 101: An Overview of U.S. Government Contracts for Non-Government Contracts Attorneys," Federal Bar Association and MyLawCLE, (March 2, 2017)
Panelist, "A Comparison of Bid Protest Regimes Throughout North America – US, Canada and Mexico," ABA Section of International Law, International Procurement Committee, Washington DC, (March 31, 2015)

Media Mentions

Quoted by Law360 in the article, “Top Gov't Contracts Cases To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2024” (August 28, 2024)
"What Is a Nonsolicitation Agreement?" U.S.News (January 5, 2024)

Clerk Experience