W. Bruce Shirk hasjoined the Washington, D.C. office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLPin the firm's Government Contracts practice group.  Shirk most recently led Powell Goldstein'sGovernment Contracts practice in Washington, D.C. 

Shirkfocuses his practice in the areas of government and construction contract lawand litigation, including cost accounting issues, defense and aerospacecontracting, Medicare and Medicaid contracting and related areas of lawincluding Medicare coordination of benefits and data sharing requirements.

"We are thrilledto welcome Bruce to the office," said Ed Schiff, managing partner of thefirm's Washington, D.C. office.  "Hisbackground is a perfect fit for our formidable Government Contracts group." 

"With close tofour decades of experience, Bruce brings with him a wealth of governmentcontracting knowledge and expertise in resolving a variety of disputes,"commented John Chierichella, a senior lawyer in the firm's D.C. GovernmentContracts practice.  "He will be agreat asset to our clients, as we continue to grow our robust practice."

CommentedShirk, "I look forward to working closely with John and the top-notchgroup of attorneys in the D.C. practice. I am greatly impressed by Sheppard Mullin and its reputation as a'go-to' firm for government contracting clients."

Shirk'slitigation experience includes the conduct of trials and appeals, including bidprotests and other complex litigation and related discovery proceedings, beforeBoards of Contract Appeals, various federal administrative tribunals and statecourts, Federal District courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has represented both state and federalgovernment entities in litigation and has served as an arbitrator in a numberof construction arbitration proceedings under the rules of the AmericanArbitration Association.

Shirk'sexperience as a counselor includes review of contracts and provision of adviceto clients in both the public and private sectors in negotiation andadministration of contracts and grants; administrative prosecution of claimsagainst the government and defense of civil claims and criminal proceedingsbrought or instituted by the government, including claims arising under theMedicare statutes and regulations; defense of claims against public sectorentities; conduct of internal inquiries related to contract and regulatorycompliance, the latter including government claims for reimbursement ofMedicare payments.

Shirkhas conducted assessments of the practical impact of the law on the conduct ofbusiness with the government for clients, working closely with experts inrelated fields such as cost accounting and data analysis to formulaterecommendations for managers responsible for corporate decision-making andresolution of disputes; the establishment of compliance programs and advice andcounsel to clients regarding pricing and cost accounting issues. He has a special interest in the principlesand implementation of internal controls in the context of performance ofgovernment contracts and grants.

Shirkearned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1969 and received a B.A., cum laude,from Harvard College in 1962.  He servedin the U.S. Marine Corps on active duty as a lieutenant from 1962 to 1966.

About Sheppard Mullin Richter &Hampton LLP

Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with more than 520 attorneysin 10 offices located throughout California and in New York, Washington, D.C.and Shanghai.  The firm's Californiaoffices are located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Century City,Orange County, Del Mar Heights and San Diego. Founded in 1927 on the principle that the firmwould succeed only if its attorneys delivered prompt, high quality andcost-effective legal services, Sheppard Mullin provides legal counsel toU.S. and international clients.  Companies turn to Sheppard Mullin to handle a full range ofcorporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financialtransactions.  In the U.S., the firm'sclients include more than half of the Fortune 100 companies.  For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.