Alexander O. Canizares Partner

Alexander Canizares represents government contractors and other companies in litigation, investigations, and regulatory matters involving federal departments and agencies. As a former trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Division, Alex draws on his experience serving as lead counsel in complex cases involving the federal government to advise companies in the aerospace and defense, technology, healthcare, professional services, and other industries in a range of areas, including contract claims and disputes, False Claims Act (FCA) matters, bid protests, cybersecurity, and strategic counseling related to all phases of federal procurement.

Alex's practice includes representing clients ranging from early-stage companies to publicly traded Fortune 100 corporations in litigation, internal and government investigations, compliance issues and disputes arising under prime government contracts and subcontracts, mandatory or voluntary disclosures, intellectual property and government data rights, and government contracts diligence in mergers and acquisitions. Alex advocates on behalf of clients in matters before U.S. district courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as arbitral tribunals. He also represents companies in internal and government investigations, including defense of qui tam whistleblower suits involving fraud allegations related to federal programs and contracts. In his counseling practice, he provides practical advice to mitigate risks and exposure to liability in connection with all aspects of federal contracting and involving multiple U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and civilian agencies. His industry experience includes assisting clients that furnish products, services and solutions involving defense and aerospace technology, IT services, software, artificial intelligence/machine learning, cloud-based platforms, quantum computing, logistics, and engineering services.

While at DOJ Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch, National Courts Section, Alex handled dozens of cases at both the trial and appellate levels involving government contracts and other matters. He has first-chair experience litigating cases in areas that include the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), the FCA and fraud allegations, and bid protests before the GAO, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He has presented oral arguments before the Federal Circuit 13 times.

Alex writes and speaks frequently regarding government contracts matters and is an adjunct professor of Performance of Government Contracts at The George Washington University Law School. He serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association's Public Contract Law Section's (PCLS) Procurement Fraud and False Claims Committee, as well as on the PCLS Council. Alex is a vice-chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association's Government Contracts Committee, and an executive editor of the ABA PCLS Procurement Lawyer publication.