Brian Walsh Named a ‘D.C. Rising Star’ by The National Law Journal

July 25, 2019

Washington, DC — Brian Walsh, a partner in Wiley Rein’s Government Contracts Practice, was named a “D.C. Rising Star” by The National Law Journal (NLJ), which selected 40 of the Washington metro area’s top lawyers under age 40 across a range of practice areas.

Selected from a competitive pool, this year’s honorees have “excelled on some of the biggest stages,” NLJ said in its announcement.

“I’ve been successful at cultivating good relationships with many of my clients because I care about them as people, not just as clients,” Mr. Walsh said in his NLJ profile. Asked to describe his biggest accomplishment, he recalled a large bid protest matter in which he developed a novel basis for dismissing the case, drawing praise from the judge – and within days of the oral argument, the bid protester withdrew.

Mr. Walsh names his greatest mentor as the Honorable Daniel M. Friedman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, for whom he clerked after law school. “On day one of my clerkship, he taught me that in court, and in life, you should always answer the question you were asked, not the question you wish you were asked,” Mr. Walsh said of the late Judge Friedman.

Mr. Walsh represents government contractors and subcontractors, as well as federal and state grant recipients, on government contracts matters including contract claims and disputes, teaming and subcontracting issues, data rights and intellectual property issues, government investigations and audits, and compliance with ethics and procurement integrity laws. He represents clients in bid protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and has litigated hundreds of protests at these forums.

Named by Law360 as a 2018 “Rising Star” for Government Contracts, Mr. Walsh serves as Co-Chair of the ABA Section of Public Contract Law’s Bid Protest and Diversity committees, and as Co-Vice Chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s Government Contracts Committee. He also co-chairs Wiley Rein’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

NLJ’s complete list of 2019 “Rising Stars” honorees can be found here (subscription required).