Erica Bakies is a Washington, D.C.-based associate in the firm’s government contracts and procurement policy and antitrust, competition, and trade regulation practice groups. Erica counsels clients on a wide range of federal procurement and international trade topics and marries her international trade and government contracts practices with a unique focus on national security issues.
Erica's government procurement practice includes developing compliance policies and procedures for a number of different subjects, such as domestic sourcing (“Buy American”) requirements, and assisting clients with the performance of federal contracts abroad. She regularly represents contractors pursuing or defending federal bid protests at the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She also conducts internal investigations related to potential False Claims Act violations pursuant to the Mandatory Disclosure Rule and counsels clients facing government investigations and potential suspension or debarment.
In her international trade practice, Erica concentrates on export controls such as the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”); sanctions programs as enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”); anti-corruption laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”); and anti-boycott laws. Erica conducts due diligence on individual transactions, assists clients with performing export control classifications, develops compliance procedures, performs internal investigations, and counsels clients through government enforcement actions. She regularly assists clients with submitting voluntary self-disclosures to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) and OFAC. Her practice also focuses on representing foreign and domestic companies during national security reviews, such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) review process as well as foreign ownership, control, or influence (“FOCI”) mitigation procedures.
Prior to joining the firm, Erica was a law clerk to the Honorable Bernice B. Donald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
- Chambers USA “Associates to Watch: Government Contracts” (2020)
- American Bar Association, Section of Public Contract Law
- Vice Chair, Battle Space and Contingency Procurements
- Member, Bid Protest Committee Member
- Member, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Member, Procurement Fraud and False Claims
- Member, Young Lawyers Committee Member
- Women in Government Contracts
- National Council on International Trade Development
- Washington International Trade Association
- Women in International Trade
- The Barristers
- Presenter, “Status of Forces Agreements: Time to Get off the Couch and Learn about SOFAs,” ABA Federal Procurement Institute (March 2018).
- “DOD Clarifies Contractor Cybersecurity Certification — Again,” Law360, 19 December 2019
- “Real Steps Towards “Buy American” Compliance,” Briefing Papers, May 2019
- “Assessing the Timeliness Requirements to Protest an Agency’s Corrective Action,” The Procurement Lawyer, Winter 2019
- “How Agencies 'Buy Foreign' Under the Buy American Act,” Law360, 5 February 2019
- “For Corrective Action Protests, Early Is Not On Time,” Government Contracts Law360, 16 November 2018
- “Protesting A Procurement As A Non-Offeror,” Government Contracts Law360, 22 August 2018
- “Feature Comment: Real Steps Towards ‘Buy American’ Compliance—Part IV: What Comes Next?” The Government Contractor, 13 June 2018
- “Feature Comment: Real Steps Towards ‘Buy American’ Compliance—Part III: Understanding And Avoiding Common Areas Of Noncompliance That Lead to Enforcement Actions,” The Government Contractor, 25 April 2018
- “Feature Comment: Real Steps Towards ‘Buy American’ Compliance—Part II: Demystifying BAA And TAA Requirements,” The Government Contractor, 28 March 2018
- “Feature Comment: Real Steps Towards ‘Buy American’ Compliance—Part I: Unpacking FAR Pt. 25 and the Application Of ‘Buy American’ Laws,” The Government Contractor, 21 February 2018
- A Glimpse Inside the Brain’s Black Box: Understanding the Role of Neuroscience in Criminal Sentencing, Fordham Law Review (Nov. 2016) (written with the Honorable Bernice B. Donald).
