With decades of combined practice supporting grantees across diverse industry sectors and federal funding agencies, Venable’s government contracts and grants team provides creative and practical solutions to complex regulatory challenges.
With a deep understanding of the nuances of federal oversight and the realities of program delivery, Venable’s government contracts and grants attorneys support clients pursuing research, delivering critical social services, fostering conservation and enhancing environmental stewardship, and building critical public infrastructure. From large institutions to state agencies, local governments, tribes, and smaller community-based nonprofits, our attorneys guide clients through every stage of the grant life cycle, offering practical, strategic support, from planning and federal grant compliance to audit and dispute resolution.
We also provide counsel on the Uniform Guidance and agency-specific regulations, addressing cost allowability and allocation, indirect cost rates, subrecipient management, procurement standards, intellectual property, cost share, and program income. When issues arise, we represent grantees in audits, investigations, cost disallowances, terminations, appeals, False Claims Act matters, and suspension and debarment proceedings. As a full-service firm, Venable integrates insights from across its practices to deliver coordinated, end-to-end support, helping clients manage their funding effectively, maintain compliance, and achieve their program goals with confidence.
Federal Grant Compliance
Our attorneys work across the full landscape of federal grant regulation, advising on compliance with obligations under the Federal Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, commonly referred to as the Uniform Guidance and set forth at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, the agency supplements to the Uniform Guidance, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars that preceded the Uniform Guidance, and the grant management regulations at 45 C.F.R. Part 75 applied to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awards prior to October 1, 2025.
Our work covers:
- Cost issues, including matters of cost allowability, cost allocation, and indirect cost rates
- Subrecipient matters, from multi-party project structural planning to agreement negotiation and oversight in performance
- Procurement procedures under the federal procurement standards
- Intellectual property rights and necessary actions for preserving those rights
- Cost share/match requirements and program income management
- Real property and federally supported construction matters, from federal interest obligations to Davis Bacon Act compliance and Buy America requirements
In these areas and others, we support our clients in all phases of the grant process and in disputes that arise with federal funding agencies or pass-through entities, such as state and local agencies. Among other support, we aid our clients in:
- Strategic planning in federally funded projects
- Development of tailored policies and procedures
- Workforce training, to advise and educate key staff on federal funding requirements
- Transactional support through agreement drafting and negotiation, including subrecipient agreements, and a variety of permissible contracting arrangements
- Audit defense and audit resolution
- Internal investigations
- Subpoena response and defense against federal agency investigations
- Cost disallowance and termination disputes, including agency appeals and litigation in federal court
- Civil False Claims Act (FCA) defense, including response to Civil Investigative Demands and FCA litigation
- Suspension and debarment proceedings under the Non-procurement Suspension and Debarment Common Rule
Federal Grant Dispute Resolution
In disputes with funding agencies, our attorneys are experienced with appeals before the HHS Departmental Appeals Board and the Department of Education’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, and are experienced with National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) appeals, as well as appeals under less formal procedures offered by the Department of Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other agencies.
Other Agreements with Similar Functions
Finally, our federal grants team assists its clients with similar non-grant legal relationships, including Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) used in transactions with federal labs; Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, DoD, and Department of Commerce; and U.S. Forest Service participating agreements used for conservation projects and Public Land Corps opportunities.
