Elise Farrell
Counsel
Areas of Focus
- Government Contracts
- Export Controls & Economic Sanctions
- Government Contracts & Grants Policy
- Bid Protests
- Claims, Disputes & Litigation
- Technology
- Cost Accounting & Pricing
- Security Clearance
- Government Contracts Intellectual Property & Data Rights
- Contract & Grant Compliance and Administration
- Freedom of Information Act
- General Services Administration Contracting
- Government Contracts & Supply Chain
- State & Local Procurement
- Government Contracts Mergers & Acquisitions
- Suspension & Debarment
- Small Business Issues
- Semiconductors
- Metaverse
- Cloud Computing & Data Storage
- Aviation, Space & Defense
- Practice focuses on government contracts and U.S. export controls.
- Advises corporations on internal and government investigations.
Elise Farrell advises clients on complying with government contracting regulations and international trade laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Elise has significant experience conducting internal and government investigations and assisting clients with responding to subpoenas and other government inquiries.
Elise also has extensive experience conducting transactional government contracts due diligence as well as assisting clients, including defense contractors, with a variety of procurement and contracts issues. This includes counseling clients on eligibility requirements for small business set-aside contracts and small business loans and grants. She assists clients in navigating the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) affiliation rules, procurement programs, and loan programs, including the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Disaster Injury Loan (EIDL).
In the litigation space, Elise represents clients in bid protests before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and U.S. Court of Federal Claims, as well as size protests and appeals before the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA).
Elise maintains a robust pro bono practice representing women from Central America seeking asylum or adjustment of immigration status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Prior to joining Akin Gump, Elise served as a legal intern, in the Office of General Counsel, Procurement Division, of the Small Business Administration and as a judicial intern in the Office of the Honorable Judge Beryl A. Howell, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Before law school, Elise was a paralegal at Akin Gump where she worked on various government contracts and export control matters.
- Defended a global technology company in an export control and sanctions investigation before the U.S. Departments of Justice, Commerce, State, Homeland Security, Treasury and Defense.
- Conducted internal investigations and prepared voluntary disclosures and responded to subpoenas and other government inquiries for multinational companies.
- Successfully represented companies in suspension and debarment proceedings initiated by government agencies, including the Air Force, resulting in a lift of the imposed/proposed suspension.
- Developed company-specific policies, procedures and training materials to safeguard against international trade-related risks.
- Developed company-specific procedures and tools to assess compliance with requirements of potential government contracting opportunities.
EducationJ.D., Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude, 2016
B.A., Wake Forest University, summa cum laude, 2010
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude, 2016
B.A., Wake Forest University, summa cum laude, 2010
Bar AdmissionsDistrict of Columbia
Maryland
District of Columbia
Maryland
- The Legal 500 US, Government contracts, 2022.
- Legal intern, Office of General Counsel, Procurement Division, Small Business Administration.
- Judicial intern, Office of the Honorable Judge Beryl A. Howell, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
- “Federal COVID-19 Assistance for Business,” Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) Webinar, April 15, 2020
- “CARES Act Relief,” National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) Webinar, April 2, 2020
- “Government Contracts Bid Protests: Latest Trends, Developments, and Issues Explored,” Knowledge Group Webcast, November 19, 2019.