Andrea T. Vavonese focuses her practice on government contracting and commercial litigation. Ms. Vavonese serves as general counsel for government contracting firms, including a construction company, advising on all aspects of dealing with the federal government, including procurement, contract negotiations, national security, protection of intellectual property, changes, compliance and disputes. She advises clients regarding "Other Transaction Agreements" with the United States Department of Homeland Security. Ms. Vavonese counsels clients on matters impacting government contractors, such as suspension and debarment, small business regulations and the Freedom of Information Act. She also represents clients, including technology companies, on litigation matters relating to patents, trademarks, trade secrets, cybersquatting, construction and earnout disputes.
Ms. Vavonese has conducted jury and bench trials, arbitrations and mediations. She has argued motions in federal, state and administrative courts and has taken and defended numerous depositions. She has handled federal bid protests and federal and state appeals, including matters before numerous Federal Boards of Contract Appeals.
From 2002 to 2006 Ms. Vavonese served as litigation counsel for VeriSign, Inc., where she defended and prosecuted lawsuits, governmental investigations and subpoenas for the company and its subsidiaries worldwide. She handled patent, trademark, domain name, unfair competition, earnout and employment litigation. She also worked closely with senior management to develop litigation strategy and mitigate litigation risk. Prior to joining VeriSign in 2002, Ms. Vavonese was an associate at Akin Gump.
Ms. Vavonese received her B.S. in accounting from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 1991. She became a certified public accountant in 1993. She received her J.D. magna cum laude in 1997 from the Catholic University of America, where she was a member of the Catholic University Law Review.
She is a member of the District of Columbia and Virginia Bars and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and various federal trial and appellate courts.