DOT 42-03
Thursday, May 15, 2003
Contact: Bill
Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-5571
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today
announced the appointment of Jeri K. Somers as a judge on the DOT Board of
Contract Appeals (DOTBCA).
Judge Somers comes to the board from her position as
counsel with Miller & Chevalier in Washington,
D.C. Prior to joining that practice
in 2001, Somers served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Section of the
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia, beginning in 1994.
Somers was a trial attorney with the Justice Department from 1991 to 1994.
She began her legal career as a judge advocate with the U.S. Air Force
and has continued to serve as a member of the D.C. Air National Guard, where she
is the headquarters state judge advocate, holding the rank of lieutenant
colonel.
The Secretary also announced the promotion of Judge James
L. Stern to chief judge and Judge Eileen P. Fennessy to deputy chief judge of
the DOTBCA.
“I am proud of the excellent dispute resolution forum
that the DOT Board of Contract Appeals provides the government,” Secretary
Mineta said. “With the addition
of Judge Somers and the promotion of Judges Stern and Fennessy, we have a
capable and experienced panel well-suited to the job.”
The DOTBCA, established under the Contract Disputes Act, has served DOT and other agencies for over 30 years adjudicating contract disputes between the government and private contractors. The board is highly regarded in the government contracts community, and its decisions are frequently cited as precedent by the courts and other boards. The Attorney General has chosen the DOTBCA for over 25 consecutive years to hear contract cases arising within the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. Tax Court, the National Science Foundation, and the International Trade Commission also have agreements with DOT to utilize the services of the DOTBCA.
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