Wiley Rein’s Kara Sacilotto Profiled by Law360 as ‘Government Contracts MVP’

December 10, 2018

Washington, DC – Kara M. Sacilotto, partner in Wiley Rein’s Government Contracts Practice, was profiled by Law360 as a 2018 “MVP” in Government Contracts. Recognized as one of the top three lawyers in her practice area on this elite national list, Ms. Sacilotto was noted for her key role in securing an $8 billion freight transportation contract for client Crowley Logistics Inc. in a long-running bid protest dispute.

Ms. Sacilotto’s successful litigation on Crowley’s behalf was highlighted by Law360 as her biggest accomplishment of the past year. She served as lead attorney managing the case from start to finish, developed a litigation strategy, and presented oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “I have been involved in cases that have gone from GAO to the court to the Federal Circuit, but none like this,” she told Law360. “It was really gratifying for us that we secured victories on all the meaningful matters at the court and the Federal Circuit.”

Law360 noted Ms. Sacilotto’s transition to government contracts after focusing on telecommunications matters earlier in her career. After a large telecom case ended, she began working on a big-ticket litigation involving major defense contractors. “I had done a little bit of government contract work before, and just absolutely serendipitously, my first government contracts matter was a bid protest,” she said. “I decided if I was going to be litigating matters, I wanted to focus on the government contracts space.”

When asked what motivates her, Ms. Sacilotto told Law360 she loves service projects. “Whenever I can give back, I try to do it,” she said. She has incorporated that passion into her role as Chair the American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law. She also serves as an adjunct professor in government contracts at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.

Ms. Sacilotto said she advises junior attorneys to not feel obligated to view their careers as strictly linear. “You’ve got that law degree,” she said. “You should use it to do something interesting and rewarding.”

To view the full article, please click here (subscription required).