Executive Summary

Robert “Bob” Metzger heads the Washington, D.C. office of Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, PC (RJO), a firm that has specialized in government contracts for more than 40 years. He also leads the firm’s Cybersecurity and Privacy practice group, representing leading Fortune 500 clients such as Microsoft and five of the top 20 aerospace and defense companies in their highest-profile contracts, disputes, compliance audits and bid protests.

“He is probably the best around in dealing with cybersecurity-related government contract matters.” – Government contracts client to Chambers USA about Bob Metzger

In 2023, Chambers USA placed Bob in Band 1 for Government Contracts: Cybersecurity (USA — Nationwide), the highest Chambers ranking an attorney can receive. Chambers researchers have also ranked him for Government Contracts (USA – Nationwide) for 13 consecutive years. 

Chambers researchers note that Bob is “routinely called upon by clients for his expertise in cybersecurity matters, assisting clients with high-stakes contract procurements, qui tam litigation and compliance issues.” Rankings guide researchers have also placed the firm in the exclusive Chambers Government Contracts: The Elite (USA – Nationwide) list since 2021. RJO is the only boutique firm featured on this list.

Considered by Washington Technology to be “the father of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC),” Bob was included in the inaugural 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers guide for his work in government contracts, cybersecurity, supply chain and national security matters. Also in 2024, LinkedIn named Bob a “Top Voice,” a designation reserved for senior-level experts and leaders who consistently share valuable and original insights on the platform. 

The Legal 500, which ranked RJO for its government contracts practice in 2023, further described Bob as a “key name” and “procurement fraud and national security specialist.” 

Professional Qualifications

Throughout his more than 40 years in practice, Bob has been at the forefront of several high-profile federal bid protests, compliance matters and data breach responses. Some of his notable matters include: 

• Serving as Counsel of Record for Microsoft at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against Amazon Web Services’ protest of Microsoft’s $10 billion JEDI DoD cloud contract award. 
• Serving as lead counsel in a successful protest for Microsoft before the U.S. Government Accountability Office regarding a multibillion-dollar intelligence community cloud services contract. 
• Representing several Siemens affiliates in multiple GAO protests.  
• Serving as an expert witness in defending a False Claims Act action involving cybersecurity noncompliance allegations.
• Serving as an expert witness in defending a False Claims Act action involving nonconforming electronic parts.
• Advising leading cloud service providers and cloud-based application providers on FedRAMP and DoD cloud computing security obligations and compliance. 
• Assisting companies with interpreting and applying existing cyber and supply chain laws and regulations, including Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act and the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act.
• Advising medical technology and supply companies on compliance with FAR and DFARS and other federal data security and event reporting requirements.
• Guiding companies through incident responses following data breaches.
• Advising defense contractors with foreign owners on compliance with FOCI mitigation requirements and classified information rules.      
• Drafting agreement packages for providers of managed services and managed security-as-a-service and for third party assessment organizations (3PAOs).
• Serving as lead counsel in the defense of an aerospace parts supplier against competitor allegations in federal court of copyright infringement and trade secrets misappropriation.
• Successfully defending a state information technology services provider against allegations of improper assertion of small business status.     
• Advising companies on the regulatory treatment of new, AI-powered solutions and services.
• Contributing analysis to transaction-processing companies on extraterritorial applications of Chinese privacy laws.     
• Advising leading U.S. companies on prospective legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives involving cyber, supply chain and national security matters.

Long recognized for his thought leadership in cybersecurity, supply chain security and related issues, Bob has written 68 articles and is frequently quoted in the media on national security, cyber and supply chain security subjects. In fact, Who’s Who Legal named Bob a USA – Government Contacts Thought Leader for 2023. 

As a Special Government Employee of the Department of Defense, Bob was on the Defense Science Board task force that produced the “Cyber Supply Chain Report” (April 2017), which received the SANS Institute “Difference Maker” award. He also co-authored the August 2018 MITRE “Deliver Uncompromised” Report, which is credited with significantly influencing DoD and federal civilian agency security initiatives. The report team received a “Program Recognition Award” from MITRE in 2019. Bob has participated in several other MITRE projects on national security and public policy subjects. 

Outside of his client work and thought leadership, Bob serves as vice chair of the Information Security Committee and co-chair of the American Bar Association Science and Technology Section’s Trust and Risk Committee. He has published several articles in the section’s publication, SciTech Lawyer.   

Bob is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a Georgetown Law Journal editor. He was a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Center for Science & International Affairs (presently, the “Belfer Center”), where he focused on European security and U.S.-Soviet strategic forces competition. 

Education

J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
Editor, Georgetown University Law Journal

B.A., Middlebury College

Research Fellow, Center for Science & International Affairs
(now “Belfer Center”),
Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Bar Admissions

California
District of Columbia