At least two rival law firms have beefed up their government contracts and procurement practices in Washington in the past week, both adding lawyers who specialize in contracting disputes with several decades of experience.

After more than a decade at the U.S. Government Accountability Office and a year with the U.S. Senate, Eric Ransom entered private practice for the first time at Crowell & Moring, the firm said Tuesday. He joins Crowell's government contracts group as senior counsel.

Ransom began working at GAO before graduating law school and subsequently rose through the ranks of the procurement law division to senior attorney and deputy assistant general counsel. After completing 10 years at GAO, he said he was on special assignment to the U.S. Senate last year, serving as an attorney with the Senate Rules Committee.

He said when he began working in the Senate, he also started to think of what would come next in his career. He declined to discuss what other firms he considered before joining Crowell but said he was attracted to Crowell because of its D.C. locus, its size being “large but not too large” and his experience working opposite the firm while at GAO.

“Eric is an exciting addition to our bid protest team,” said Daniel Forman, co-chair of the firm's government contracts group, in a statement. “Eric's GAO experience, industry reputation, and ability to handle classified protests will benefit our clients and deepen our robust practice.”

At GAO, Crowell said, Ransom oversaw bid protests regarding the U.S. Air Force B-21 Stealth Bomber Program; NASA Commercial Crew Transportation Capability Program; and classified procurement programs. The firm said he resolved more than 750 bid protests at GAO, and rendered some 125-plus legal decisions.

From the Senate's Rules Committee, he pushed for improvements to the Senate's internal procurement systems and had responsibility for oversight of legislative branch contracting issues.

He declined to discuss the clients he anticipates working with at Crowell.

Ransom isn't the only government contracts lawyer on the move in the capital. After more than a decade at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, Dominique Casimir last week joined Blank Rome as a partner in the firm's government contracts group.

Casimir, who specializes in bid protest litigation and contractor suspension and debarment matters, started at Arnold & Porter as a summer associate and worked her way up the ladder to partner. Through the years, she said she began to get curious about other firms, before finally starting to search out other opportunities in January.

“When I was looking, Blank Rome was right there at the top of my list,” Casimir said.

She said she had long known of Blank Rome's “strong reputation” in the government contracts realm, which matched the reputation of her longtime home, Arnold & Porter. She said she learned of Blank Rome's standing firsthand when appearing opposite Justin Chiarodo, co-chair of Blank Rome's government contracts group.

“Dominique's impressive background and experience in suspension and debarment matters is an excellent addition to our nationally recognized government contracts practice and will be of great benefit to our clients,” said Chiarodo in a statement. “We're thrilled to have a litigator and counselor of Dominique's caliber join the team.” Casimir declined to identify specific clients, citing a lack of permission from her firm.

Casimir said she isn't talking with others at Arnold & Porter about following her lead to Blank Rome, but she said she had “no doubt” Blank Rome's government contracts team will grow. She said she was excited about what the firm is building, adding it's heading “nowhere but up.”

Arnold & Porter, meanwhile, has not sat still. Last week, the firm announced the addition of Michael McGill to its global regulatory practice group from Hogan Lovells. McGill has expertise in government procurement law across various business sectors, and McGill said he was attracted by Arnold & Porter's “preeminent government contracts and national security group in the country.”

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Arnold & Porter Poaches Gov't Contracts Partner From Hogan Lovells