Michael W. Mutek – Vice President, Legal Council
Steptoe & Johnson, LLC
Michael W. Mutek brings clients a wealth of practical knowledge and experience in government contracts, intelligence, and national security law. His practice spans the areas of government contracts, compliance and ethics, bid protests, claims, internal investigations and disclosures, formation and dissolution of teaming agreements, and dispute resolution. Additionally, Mr. Mutek counsels clients on matters related to the intelligence community and national security issues.
Prior to joining Steptoe, Mr. Mutek served as the vice president and general counsel of Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services business, a $6 billion business unit of Raytheon Company. In this capacity, he was responsible for all the legal affairs of the business, and worked on several successful acquisitions in order to help create a cybersecurity business at Raytheon. During the 26 years Mr. Mutek spent at Raytheon, he held several other business unit general counsel and vice president positions, including vice president of contracts. In his early career, he served as senior trial attorney on the Air Force’s Trial Team.
Nationally recognized, Mr. Mutek is a frequent writer and lecturer on government contracts and corporate law topics, and has testified on government contract issues before Congress. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Public Contract Law and is a past chair of the section. Mr. Mutek is also a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He chaired the ABA’s Services Contracting Best Practices Task Force, which published “Services Contracting Best Practices: A Guide to Successful Services Contracting.” He is the author of “Contractor Team Arrangements – Competitive Solution or Legal Liability: The Deskbook for Drafting Teaming Agreements,” which was also published by the ABA.
Representative Speaking Engagements
##Moderator, “It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Purchasing Function: Supply Chain Management Today,” Government Contracting in a Tech-Savvy World, ABA Section of Public Contract Law, Miami, October 31, 2014
##Panelist, “What Are We Fighting For? Identifying and Resolving Common Subcontracting Issues,” ABA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, August 11, 2013
##Panelist, “New Rules on Conflict of Interest: Are They Going to be Game-Changers or Just the Same Old Thing Wrapped Up in a Different Package?” Boards of Contract Appeals Bar Association, Washington DC, October 26, 2011
##Moderator, “The Brave New World of OCI: Are You Ready?” Federal Procurement Institute, Annapolis, March 4, 2011
##Panelist, “Preventing and Mitigating Organizational and Personal Conflicts of Interest,” American Conference Institute’s National Advanced Forum on Government Contracting Compliance and Ethics, Washington, DC, September 2009
##Presenter, “Mandatory Cooperation: A Contradiction in Terms?” BCA Judges Association Annual Seminar, Alexandria, April 8, 2008
Selected Publications
##Author, “Contractor Team Arrangements – Competitive Solution or Legal Liability: The Deskbook for Drafting Teaming Agreements,” published by the American Bar Association
##Task Force Chair and Editor, “Service Contracting Best Practices: A Guide to Successful Services Contracting” published by the American Bar Association
##Author, “Government Concerns Over Contractor Team Formation: Is the Message Consistent?” The Procurement Lawyer, Winter 2005
##Author, “Implementation of Public-Private Partnering,” Public Contract Law Journal, Summer 2001
##Co-author with Paul Fiorelli, Professor of Legal Studies at Williams College of Business, Xavier University, “The Coalition for Ethics and Compliance Initiatives: Renewed Advocacy for Employee Confidentiality and Self-Evaluative Privilege, “ The Procurement Lawyer, Winter 2001
Select News & Events
##Steptoe’s Government Contracts, Homeland Security Groups Add Michael Mutek
Selected Publications
##Three Proposed FAR Rules Implement the Small Business Jobs Act, Provide More Small Business Opportunities
June 16, 2015
##DoD Issues Interim Offset Costs Rule
June 4, 2015
##Proposed Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Rules and Guidance Raise Compliance and “Blacklisting” Concerns
June 4, 2015
##Final Trafficking In Persons Rule Creates New Compliance Component For U.S. Government Contractors
March 18, 2015, The Government Contractor
Professional Affiliations
##Chair, ABA Section of Public Contract Law, 2008-2009
##Fellow, Public Contract Law Section (ABA)
##Fellow, American Bar Foundation
##Served as chair or vice chair of Several ABA Committees
##Advisory Council Member, University of Dayton School of Law
##Chair, Steering Committee for the Program in Law and Business Ethics, University of Dayton School of Law