WASHINGTON D.C., November 26, 2024 – Barry Boss, co-chair of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Department and White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice Group, and Eric Leonard, co-chair of the Government Contracts Practice Group, have been named to the 2024 Washington, DC’s Top Lawyers by the Washingtonian Magazine. Barry was selected to the Criminal Defense – White Collar category, and Eric was selected to the Government Contracts category for 2024. The Washingtonian Magazine’s Top Lawyers is an annual directory of Washington’s top legal talent in 16 practice specialties, as voted by area lawyers.

Barry has successfully defended companies and individuals under scrutiny for a wide range of criminal activities, including allegations of price-fixing, money laundering, fraud, environmental offenses, gambling, bribery, political corruption, racketeering, and other offenses in his nearly four decades of practice. He guides clients, whether as target, subject, or witness, through every phase of the criminal justice process — from high-stakes governmental and internal investigations to jury trials and appeals. As a nationally known leader in federal sentencing, Barry is frequently retained to handle the sentencing phase of criminal proceedings and has a record of obtaining sentences lower than requested by prosecutors. He is a former co-chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Practitioners Advisory Group who frequently writes and lectures on sentencing issues. Prior to joining Cozen O’Connor, Barry served as an assistant federal public defender for the District of Columbia for five years.

Eric represents clients from diverse industries in all aspects of federal, state, and local procurement matters. He appears before federal agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Boards of Contract Appeals, federal district and appellate courts and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. His experience encompasses government contracts compliance with labor issues faced by federal service and construction contractors, including the Service Contract Act (SCA), Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) obligations, and Office of Federal Procurement Programs (OFCCP) issues. He also handles bid protests, contract disputes, termination litigation, mergers and acquisitions, government investigations, grant issue, suspension and debarment matters, and False Claims Act actions. Eric's practice extends to labor and employment issues, including compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and federal and state sick leave requirements, as well as non-compete agreements and employee termination.