John Chierichella is a nationally recognized procurement specialist with over 50 years of experience helping contractors deal with the intricacies of government contracts and subcontracts, applying his skills and experience as a trial lawyer, counselor, and expert witness.

 

John has been nationally recognized by Washingtonian Magazine’s Top Lawyers Hall of Fame, Best Lawyers in America, and the Legal 500. Who’s Who Legal describes him as "one of the most instantly recognizable names in government contracts law." He has been consistently ranked, nationwide, as a “Level 1” government contracts attorney by Chambers & Partners.

 

His work includes high-profile contracts such the F-18 fighter, the B-2 bomber, the DDX destroyer, the Air Force’s Short Range Recovery helicopter, a series of highly classified spy satellite contracts, the Postal Service’s Flats Sorting System, and the successful defense of multiple False Claims Act cases. He has helped clients win contracts or avoid liabilities valued cumulatively in the tens of billions over the course of his 50 year career.

 

John is a frequent commentator on and has published in such outlets as Federal News Network, Bloomberg, National Defense Magazine, and many others. He has been a frequent lecturer and co-authored the leading book on the Multiple Award Schedule Program, which the government uses to buy commercial goods and services.

 

He obtained his undergraduate degree from Cornell University. John’s law degree is from Columbia Law School, where he served on the Law Review and was both a James Kent Scholar and a Harlen Fiske Stone Scholar. He was admitted to the bar in New York, Washington, D.C., California, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and to a variety of courts in the federal judicial system. He previously was a partner at a number of international law firms and, early in his career, served as attorney/adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force in the Air Force Office of the General Counsel.

 

Upon his retirement from law firm practice, John founded Chierichella Procurement Strategies LLC, where he continues to apply his government contracts expertise consulting with clients in regard to proposal preparation and negotiation, strategic decision-making, and related activities.

 

In parallel with his consulting work, and with the urging of his wife, John has launched a second career as a novelist. Four of his novels are in publication – “Triangles of Fate,” “The Last Martini,” “Death Above the Potomac,” and “Casualties of Passion.” Although they all involve legal matters in one form or another as one element of the plot, they bear no resemblance to the formal writing style – or the substance – of the many briefs and legal memoranda that he has authored as a practicing attorney.

 

Many of the events in John’s novels take place in and around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where he worked for many years, and in the Blue Ridge region of Virginia, where he has resided for the past 25 years. John and his wife Shannon are 2 of the 245 residents of The Plains, Virginia, where they “empty nest” with their four dogs.