April 29, 2026
GrayRobinson is pleased to share Shareholder Roger Handberg served as a panelist for the Public Contract Law Section of the American Bar Association on April 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
The panel addressed DEI Policy and the False Claims Act, and covered the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, the President's Executive Orders regarding DEI and their impact on government contracting, potential False Claims Act matters, and a recent False Claims Act settlement involving a government contractor's DEI practices. When the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative was first established, Roger wrote about the initiative and the DOJ’s stated intent, as expressed in a May 19, 2025 memorandum, to ensure compliance with federal civil rights laws through enforcement of the False Claims Act “against those who defraud the United States by taking its money while knowingly violating civil rights laws.” The recent settlement is the first to arise from that initiative.
Based in the firm's Orlando office, Roger brings more than two decades of prosecutorial and litigation experience to the firm's criminal and white-collar defense practice. As the former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, one of the largest and most active federal jurisdictions in the country, Roger has a national reputation for handling major financial crime, public corruption and regulatory enforcement cases.