Recent Publication:
Eric Leonard, Larry Prosen, and Kristina Zaslavskaya share updates on intensifying audits and investigations into federal procurement, focusing on fraud, compliance, and misuse of preference programs under new administration priorities.
Eric has more than 27 years of experience representing clients from diverse industries in all aspects of federal, state, and local procurement matters. He appears before federal agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Boards of Contract Appeals, federal district and appellate courts and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
His experience encompasses government contracts compliance with labor issues faced by federal service and construction contractors, including the Service Contract Act (SCA), Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) obligations, and Office of Federal Procurement Programs (OFCCP) issues. Eric also handles bid protests, contract disputes, termination litigation, mergers and acquisitions, government investigations, grant and cooperative agreement matters, suspension and debarment issues, and False Claims Act actions. His practice extends to labor and employment issues, including compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and federal and state sick leave requirements, as well as non-compete agreements and employee termination.
Before joining Cozen O'Connor, Eric was a partner at a leading Washington, D.C., firm. Eric is an active member of the American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law, currently serving on the Employment Safety and Labor and Bid Protest Committees. He is a frequent author and press contributor to Law360 and other publications on evolving Government Contracts Labor & Employment issues. He previously was a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Law360's Government Contracts Employment Authority Wage & Hour newsletter.
Eric received his Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University and earned his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
News
May 14, 2025
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was quoted in a Law360 article discussing the Trump administration’s decision to no longer enforce the Biden-era rule that raised the minimum wage for federal contractors.
March 26, 2025
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was interviewed in a Law360 article discussing what the rescission of Executive Order 14026 means for contractors and their wage obligations.
March 19, 2025
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was quoted in a Law360 article discussing President Donald Trump’s recission of Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14026, which increases the federal wage for federal contract workers.
January 23, 2025
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was quoted in a Law360 article discussing President Donald Trump’s executive order to revoke an Equal Employment Opportunity executive order and mandate that DEI requirements be removed from federal procurement programs.
January 01, 2025
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was quoted in a Law360 article discussing the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.’s (ABC) challenge to a U.S. Department of Labor regulation changing how prevailing wages paid under federally funded construction projects are calculated under the Davis-Bacon Act.
December 23, 2024
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was quoted in a Law360 article discussing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ attempt to resolicit Maximus Federal Services Inc.’s deal to insert an LHA clause.
November 26, 2024
Barry Boss, co-chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Department and White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice Group, and Eric Leonard, co-chair of the Government Contracts Practice Group, have been named to the 2024 Washington, DC’s Top Lawyers by the Washingtonian Magazine.
October 11, 2024
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was quoted in a Law360 article discussing a challenge to a 2021 U.S. Department of Labor rule raising the minimum wage for federal contract workers and President Biden’s executive order regarding the rulemaking.
August 26, 2024
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, was quoted in the article “4th Circ. Ruling Seen As Harbinger of Remote Work Battles” by Law360.
July 22, 2024
Eric Leonard was quoted in a Law360 article discussing the Texas federal court’s decision in Associated General Contractors of America et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor et al., which resulted in issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking parts of the Davis-Bacon Act regulation that governs prevailing wages for publicly funded construction projects over $2,000.
April 30, 2024
Eric Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Government Contracts practice, has been elected to the George Washington Law Alumni Association (GWLAA) Board of Directors.
February 21, 2024
Eric Leonard was quoted in a Law360 article discussing the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s proposed rule to require federal contractors to disclose pay ranges in job ads.
February 05, 2024
Eric Leonard was featured in a Law360 article discussing his practice and transition to Cozen O’Connor.
February 05, 2024
Leonard, who comes to Cozen O’Connor from Wiley Rein LLP, joins as a shareholder and will work out of the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.
Publications
November 20, 2025
Eric Leonard, Larry Prosen, and Kristina Zaslavskaya share updates on intensifying audits and investigations into federal procurement, focusing on fraud, compliance, and misuse of preference programs under new administration priorities.
October 21, 2025
Larry Prosen, Eric Leonard, Evan Bursey, and Kristina Zaslavskaya outline significant regulatory changes affecting small business programs, particularly the Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 19.
September 25, 2025
Larry Prosen and Eric Leonard discuss another potential federal government shutdown and share what government contractors should do to protect their interests.
September 24, 2025
Eric Leonard and Kristina Zaslavskaya share details on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, which establishes three tiers of cybersecurity standards based on the sensitivity of information handled.
July 24, 2025
Eric Leonard, Larry Prosen, Matt Howell, and Rachel Schwartz discuss the OMB's memo, which aims to streamline federal procurement by consolidating activities under the GSA.
May 21, 2025
The White Collar team discusses the DOJ's new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which leverages the False Claims Act to combat discrimination by federal fund recipients.
May 12, 2025
Larry Prosen, Eric Leonard, and Adam Poliner discuss the DOT's notice to grant recipients about new interpretations of DEI policies and potential consequences for failure to comply.
April 17, 2025
Larry Prosen and Eric Leonard discuss President Trump's Executive Order to streamline the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
April 07, 2025
Geof Ferrer and Matthew Howell discuss a decision by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals penalizing a contractor for failure to use a U.S.-flag vessel in Bahrain.
April 02, 2025
Eric Leonard, with the assistance of Kristina Zaslavskaya, discusses the General Services Administration launch of FedRAMP 20x, which is a new initiative designed to create a new framework for the authorization and assessment of cloud services for the federal government.
March 24, 2025
Prosen and Leonard discuss President Trump's Executive Order No. 14240 titled “Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement.”
March 19, 2025
Eric Leonard and Rachel Schwartz discuss President Trump rescinding a second batch of Biden-era executive orders (EOs), including EO 14026 (Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors).
March 19, 2025
Eric Leonard and Rachel Schwartz contributed an article to HR Dive discussing the need for government contractors to be prepared for robust changes to federal contracting requirements during the current administration.
March 11, 2025
Prosen and Leonard discuss what federal contractors should do to prepare for a potential government shutdown.
March 06, 2025
Eric Leonard, Larry Prosen, and Rachel Schwartz discuss changes to Trumps tariffs, reciprocal tariffs, and what public and private businesses can do to prepare.
March 03, 2025
Larry Prosen and Eric Leonard discuss EO 14219 and what it means for government contracts and the construction industry.
February 20, 2025
Eric W. Leonard and Kristina Zaslavskaya, law clerk in the firm's Washington, D.C., office, discuss the FAR Council's proposed final rule regulating the use and handling of controlled unclassified information.
February 12, 2025
Larry Prosen, Magdalena Filipiuk, Eric Leonard, and Nicole Sprinzen discuss President Trump's executive orders involving DEI and Attorney General Bondi's memorandum to the DOJ on investigating and penalizing illegal DEI initiatives.
January 27, 2025
Larry Prosen, Eric Leonard, and Magdalena Filipiuk discuss the U.S. Court of Federal Claims' decision finding now former-President Biden’s Executive Order 14063 and the resulting Federal Acquisition Regulations mandating the use of Project Labor Agreements on certain federal construction contracts violates federal law.
January 23, 2025
Micah Myers, Eric Leonard, Michael Deutsch, and Brett Crow discuss the first two days of the Trump administration and what his memorandum might mean for tariffs.
January 23, 2025
Peter Ennis, Eric Leonard, and Sidnee McDonald discuss the impact revoking EO 11246 might have on federal contractors and what federal contracts can do now to avoid potential liability.
January 16, 2025
Eric W. Leonard, Larry Prosen, and Rachel Schwartz discuss the withdrawal of the Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting and how this move may provide a preview on the incoming administration’s likely stance on government contracting and labor policy.
October 21, 2024
The DoD's long-awaited Final Rule for the CMMC program introduces new cybersecurity requirements for almost all DoD contracts.
July 08, 2024
Eric Leonard, Larry Prosen, and Rachel Schwartz discuss the recent expansion of the Court of Federal Claims' jurisdiction over bid protests.
July 01, 2024
Eric Leonard, Larry Prosen, and Brian Doll discuss a nationwide injunction that has been issued against parts of the U.S. DOL’s 2023 Davis-Bacon Act rule, finding it exceeded statutory authority.
June 24, 2024
Eric Leonard contributed an article to Briefing Papers discussing the four evolving areas of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) that a federal service contractor should be prepared to address as part of a DOL SCA investigation or audit.
April 22, 2024
Eric Leonard, Matt Howell, and Rachel Schwartz discuss the DoD, GSA, and NASA's Final Rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
March 25, 2024
Eric Leonard contributed an article to Westlaw Today discussing three challenging areas of SCA compliance that a contractor should be prepared to address as part of any SCA audit.
February 21, 2024
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts Rule is back in effect and will apply to all new SCA-covered solicitations and contracts issued after February 12, 2024.