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A distinguished counselor and litigator, Raymond Biagini has risen to national prominence in a number of high-profile tort cases, defending commercial and government contractors in:
- "Contractor on the Battlefield" tort litigation;
- the Exxon Valdez litigation;
- the Cell Phone Radiation Hazards lawsuits;
- the "Fen-Phen" litigation;
- the nationwide Repetitive Stress Injury suits;
- claims arising out of "friendly fire" accidents during Operation Desert Storm; and
- "war crimes" allegations filed against manufacturers of military weapons systems sold to Israel.
Mr. Biagini is widely recognized for his expertise in defending “contractors on the battlefield” in tort litigation, and he has established ground-breaking legal principles at the federal appellate level which immunize defense contractors from tort liability arising out of combatant scenarios.
Mr. Biagini also has an extensive product liability prevention practice, counseling companies on mechanisms for reducing their tort exposure for products and services sold to government and commercial entities. He is significantly involved in counseling companies selling "homeland security" products and services, such as chemical/biological detection devices, perimeter security systems, biometric identity products, and airport security systems. Mr. Biagini conceptualized and authored key provisions of the SAFETY Act, a new federal statute that is part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The SAFETY Act protects companies from tort lawsuits arising out of the sale of homeland security products and services.
Mr. Biagini has represented some of the world's largest aerospace, defense and pharmaceutical companies, including Kellogg Brown & Root, Lockheed Martin, BAE SYSTEMS, Boeing, Textron, SAIC, Teledyne, Eon Labs, Unisys, and Philips Electronics. He is a frequent public speaker on risk mitigation techniques.
- Mr. Biagini has guided many clients through the confidential SAFETY Act application process administered by DHS and secured SAFETY Act protection for a range of technologies, including:
- URS’s threat and vulnerability assessment protocols;
- Raytheon’s secure borders anti-terror program for the United Kingdom; and
- A major multinational conglomerate’s airport baggage handling system.
- Kellogg Brown & Root: Served as National Counsel for KBR’s “Contractor on the Battlefield” tort suits arising out of Operation Iraqi Freedom and KBR’s contracts with the Department of Defense to provide logistical support for the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Lockheed Martin, Teledyne, SAIC, Unisys, BAE SYSTEMS: Provided product liability prevention counseling relating to the launch of "anti-terror" products/services to the government and commercial markets.
- Philips Electronics North America: Served as national coordinating counsel for all cases regarding cell phone suits which allege that plaintiffs suffered biological injury, including brain cancer, from the radio frequency radiation emitted from cell phones.
- Hughes Aircraft: Defended missile manufacturer against wrongful death allegations arising out of an explosion in the first "friendly fire" lawsuit emerging out of Desert Storm.
- Unisys: Represented company in environmental insurance claims which exceeded more than $100 million in environmental remediation’s costs from its former insurers. Also, represented company in mass tort repetitive stress injury cases. Finally, defended the company as the manufacturer of the steering system in a multi-billion dollar oil spill suit on the Exxon Valdez.
- Eon Labs Manufacturing, Inc.: Served as national coordinating counsel for this manufacturer of diet drugs in the mass tort "fen/phen" litigation involving more than 6,000 cases. Representation includes national coordination of expert and scientific discovery in federal multi-district litigation and 46 states
- General Dynamics, Raytheon, Johns Hopkins APL, Unisys, FMC: Defended these military contractors in a multiple party arrangement in lawsuits arising out of the USS Stark incident in the Persian Gulf where 46 Navy sailors were killed after an attack by Iraqi fighter aircraft and the USS Vincennes shootdown of the Iranian Airbus in the Persian Gulf, killing 290 Iranian civilians.
- Teledyne: Defended this company in a wrongful death action in federal court in Puerto Rico arising out of an explosion that occurred during a refueling of a Navy drone aircraft.
- Lockheed Martin: Successfully resolved wrongful death/federal court lawsuit involving crash of F-22 fighter aircraft during training exercise in Alaska.
Memberships and Affiliations
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Cyber Leadership Council
- American Bar Association (Insurance and Indemnification Committee of the Public Contract Law Section
- The District of Columbia Bar
Fourth Circuit Embraces Expansive View of Derivative Sovereign Immunity for Government Contractors
April 30, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
Last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision to dismiss a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) lawsuit against General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. (“GDIT”), on the basis that GDIT was immune from suit as a government contractor under what is known as the “Yearsley doctrine.” Craig Cunningham v. GDIT, No....… ...
March 9, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
Earlier this week, both chambers on Capitol Hill took steps that would increase the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) role in the area of cybersecurity. On the Senate side, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a DHS reauthorization bill that included amendments to rename and reorganize the DHS National Protection and ...
January 31, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
On January 9, 2018, Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued Class Deviation 2018-O0009, designed to reduce barriers to entry for innovative entities through streamlining the awards process for research and development contracts. This Class Deviation allows for the use of simplified acquisition procedures and excuses certain procurement obligations when DoD awards ...
Four Covington Partners Named Law360 MVPs
December 20, 2017
WASHINGTON—Law360 has named four Covington partners as MVPs in their respective practice areas. The awards single out lawyers from across numerous practice areas based on their success in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters, and record-breaking deals. The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are: Ray Biagini, Government Contracts. Mr. ...
Construction contractors: The government contractor defense is alive and well in the Fifth Circuit
December 18, 2017, Westlaw Journal Government Contract
MVP: Covington's Raymond Biagini
December 12, 2017, Law360
Ray Biagini was named a 2017 Government Contracts MVP by Law360. The publication highlights his representation of KBR in long-running multidistrict litigation that showcased his "expertise at the intersection of tort and federal contracting law."
Construction Contractors: The Government Contractor Defense is Alive and Well in the Fifth Circuit
October 17, 2017, Inside Government Contracts
Construction contractors take note: the government contractor defense is alive and well in the Fifth Circuit. In Sewell v. Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, the Fifth Circuit recently confirmed that construction companies can successfully assert the government contractor defense in response to tort lawsuits that arise from their performance of federal ...
November 8, 2016, Inside Government Contracts
Last week, the United States Supreme Court heard argument in State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby over the False Claims Act’s (FCA) “seal requirement.” The controversy highlights an important statutory tool for government contractors who face allegations of making false claims for payment. It also provides important lessons for...… ...
Cybersecurity: Steps to Take Before, During, and After an Incident
September 14, 2016, 2016 Covington Government Contracts Briefing: Solving Problems, Securing Opportunities
January 21, 2016, Inside Government Contracts
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry is wasting no time in his efforts to build on last year’s reforms to the defense acquisition system. Less than a year after he launched his opening salvo in a new round of changes, Chairman Thornberry previewed the year ahead with a recent hearing and a presentation at...… Continue Reading The post ...
OSAI Issues Guidance on the Government Contractor Defense for Certified Anti-terror Technologies
December 2, 2015, Inside Government Contracts
Congress enacted the SAFETY Act in 2002 in an effort to incentivize the development of anti-terrorism technologies following the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Act affords liability protections to sellers of Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technologies (“QATTs”) in the event of an act of terrorism where QATTs are deployed. Although the SAFETY Act’s protections ...
Four Covington Partners Named Law360 MVPs
November 25, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, November 25, 2015 - Law360 has named four Covington partners as MVPs in their respective practice areas. The awards single out lawyers from across 31 practice areas based on their success in high-stakes litigation, record-breaking deals, and complex global matters. The Covington lawyers recognized as Law360 MVPs are: Ray Biagini, ...
Risk Prevention & Mitigation: Protecting Contractor and Military Investments in Nanotechnology
November 16, 2015, 13th Annual Nano for Defense Conference: Transitioning Emerging Technologies
October 26, 2015, Inside Government Contracts
On October 22, 2015, President Obama vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2016. In so doing, the President cited concerns over provisions keeping in place the sequester, preventing reforms to modernize the military, and making it more difficult to close Guantanamo Bay. As a result, the acquisition provisions of the 2016...… ...
August 25, 2015, Global Policy Watch
Last week the Savannah River Site (“SRS”) in South Carolina, a large nuclear facility owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”), went into a lock down after electronic and canine scans of a commercial delivery truck attempting to enter the facility indicated possible explosive residue on the vehicle. Fortunately, the lock down was lifted...… Continue ...
August 25, 2015, Inside Government Contracts
Last week the Savannah River Site (“SRS”) in South Carolina, a large nuclear facility owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”), went into a lock down after electronic and canine scans of a commercial delivery truck attempting to enter the facility indicated possible explosive residue on the vehicle. Fortunately, the lock down was lifted...… Continue ...
August 3, 2015, Global Policy Watch
We have already seen tremendous fallout from recent cyber attacks on Target, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Sony Pictures, and J.P. Morgan. Now imagine that, instead of an email server or a database of information, a hacker gained access to the controls of a nuclear reactor or a hospital. The potential consequences are devastating:...… Continue ...
July 31, 2015, Inside Government Contracts
We have already seen tremendous fallout from recent cyber attacks on Target, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Sony Pictures, and J.P. Morgan. Now imagine that, instead of an email server or a database of information, a hacker gained access to the controls of a nuclear reactor or a hospital. The potential consequences are devastating:...… Continue ...
Testimony on the U.S. SAFETY Act and Cybersecurity
July 27, 2015, Before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies
Leading Government Contracts Group Joins Covington
May 1, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, May 1, 2015 — Covington is significantly expanding its government contracts practice with 20 lawyers from one of the nation’s top government contracts groups, including its former chair and leaders in contractor tort liability, bid protests, procurement fraud, trade secrets and employment. The group of five partners and 15 other lawyers from ...
December 2014, LJN's Product Liability Law & Strategy
- Chambers USA, Government Contracts (2012-2018)
- Law360, Government Contracts MVP (2015, 2017)
- Legal 500 US, Government Contracts (2016-2017)
- Legal 500 US, Product Liability, Mass Tort & Class Action (2016-2017)
- Legal 500 US, Cyber Law (2016)
- The Washington Business Journal, Finalist in its "Top Washington Lawyers" for Government Contracts (2007)
Practices
Education
Notre Dame Law School, J.D., 1979
University of Notre Dame, B.A., 1976
- magna cum laude
- Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Pennsylvania
- Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- Supreme Court of Virginia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, District of Maryland