LOS ANGELES — Mar. 9, 2023
Key takeaways
- Todd J. Canni joins BakerHostetler’s Los Angeles office as national co-chair of the Government Contracts team and partner in the firm’s Business Practice Group.
- Canni is one of the nation’s preeminent government contracts lawyers, with deep experience helping his clients resolve their most important and complex matters with the U.S. government, including counseling, litigation, investigations and debarment proceedings. He previously served as a government debarring official with the U.S. Department of the Air Force.
- Canni has successfully represented numerous contractors through the debarment process and is one of only a few practitioners to have litigated and successfully enjoined a U.S. Department of Defense debarment in U.S. District Court, which saved his client from going out of business and laying off its entire workforce.
- Canni’s arrival is the latest in a string of strategic additions to the firm’s West Coast offices, which have added more than 100 attorneys since 2019; his joining the firm follows the addition of preeminent IP litigators Ed Poplawski and Olivia Kim in Los Angeles last month.
Why this matters
Canni adds a West Coast presence to BakerHostetler’s nationwide government contracts practice. He is well known for his deep government contracts experience as well as his strength in debarment proceedings. His addition further spotlights the firm’s commitment to strategic growth and marks the 15th Business Practice Group lateral partner hire since January 2022.
Key quotes
“Todd is the most recent addition to our Business Practice Group, and we are excited to have a true government insider join our firm,” said John Allotta, chair of BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group. “He brings a unique perspective as it relates to how the government prosecutes debarment cases – which will provide tremendous value to our clients.”
“I have known Todd for almost 20 years. He is a fantastic government contracts lawyer and will be a major asset as demand for government contracts work continues to grow,” said Government Contracts team co-chair Stephen Ruscus.
About Canni’s practice
Canni has broad knowledge in virtually all aspects of government contracting based on his Master of Laws in government contracts and his federal sector work as an Air Force official and law clerk at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He offers clients strategic and outside-the-box counsel to help resolve their most complex business issues. Canni represents clients in bid protests, investigations, disputes/claims, contractor disclosures, False Claims Act litigation, contractor ethics and compliance matters, and suspension and debarment proceedings.
Canni has represented scores of government contractors, including large publicly traded contractors, small and midsize contractors, and contractor executives, in suspension and debarment proceedings, appearing before nearly every active civilian and DoD Suspension Debarment office. He is also one of a select few active private practice lawyers who formerly served as a government debarring official. As the director of suspension and debarment operations, he led the daily operations of the Air Force’s suspension and debarment program.
Canni regularly represents his clients in bid protests at the Government Accountability Office and U.S. Court of Federal Claims; he is among a small group of bid protest attorneys who argue in court before the judges at the COFC and on appeal before the Federal Circuit.
Canni received an LL.M., with highest honors, from George Washington University and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Catholic University, where he was an associate editor on the editorial board of the Catholic University Law Review.
Key quote
“I am humbled by the incredible opportunity to co-chair BakerHostetler’s national Government Contracts team and am excited to be joining forces with my former colleague Stephen Ruscus. Together, we will be able to offer our clients a full-service approach to their most complex government contracting legal needs,” said Canni.
For more information on BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group, visit https://www.bakerlaw.com/BusinessCorporate. Connect with us on Twitter at @BakerHostetler or on LinkedIn @BakerHostetler, @JohnAllotta, @Stephen Ruscus and @ToddCanni.
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About BakerHostetler
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