Vincent J. Napoleon focuses his practice in the areas of corporate transactions, government contracts, and life sciences. With more than 25 years of experience in corporate transactions and government contracting, Vincent has served as general counsel of significant divisions of major Fortune 100 companies. In addition, he served as general counsel of two publicly-held companies where he was a member of senior leadership teams and advised and counseled boards of directors.
In his capacity as general counsel, Vincent has provided business and legal solutions to clients in various industries, including aerospace, manufacturing, software, professional services and life sciences. Representing clients domestically and throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia, Vincent counsels clients on SEC-related issues, mergers and acquisitions, cross-border transactions, regulatory compliance (including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance), and corporate governance issues, and represented clients in litigation involving patents, intellectual property, and high technology. In the area of government contracts, Vincent addresses issues related to acquisition planning, source selections, Competition In Contracting Act (CICA), Truth In Negotiations Act (TINA), and cost or pricing data, cost contracting, DCAA audits, international contracting, foreign military sales, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)/antibribery compliance, and export controls.
Previously, Vincent served as the corporate chair of the Philadelphia Office of the City Solicitor, where he provided advice and counsel to the mayor, the city solicitor and other cabinet-level executives on all corporate matters during the Edward Rendell administration.
Vincent’s more notable engagements include his involvement in leading the amicus strategy in support of Glaxo Smith Kline’s successful landmark action against the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Tafas v Dudas et al); his development of the global legal strategy for protecting a leading biotechnology company patent portfolio related to its human papillomavirus (HPV) diagnostic franchise valued at more than $1.5B; and his role as a key attorney in the combination of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand—the largest professional service merger in to date.
Vincent is a retired U.S. Air Force Reserve colonel and is Level III DAWIA-certified (contracting). He served as the senior reservist to the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for contracting, where he supported transactions valued at more than $63 billion. In addition, he led efforts in support of contracting activity for the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as the senior contracting official for the Air Force District of Washington, where he led the command’s contracting organization. Vincent has been engaged in major Air Force and DoD acquisitions and programs, such as the C-17 airlift program, the Air Force National Capitol Region IT program, the F-22 program, the Consolidated Space Operations Center program, and the Space Station program.
Vincent has lectured on corporate governance, government contract issues, intellectual property matters, and compliance and regulatory issues both domestically and internationally.
Publications and presentations
- “Defense Contract Audit Agency’s Access to Contractor Internal Audit Reports: Is Newport News Still the Standard?” Public Contract Law Journal, Volume No. 42/Issue No. 3, Spring 2013.
- “DCAA Guidance: Access to Internal Audits,” NCMA Audits Virtual Conference, Webinar, 2013.
- “Understanding Government Contract Audits,” NCMA World Congress, Boston, MA, 2012.
- “The Impact of Global Patent and Regulatory Reform on Patent Strategies for Biotechnology,” International BIO Forum & BIO Expo, Tokyo, Japan, 2008. (Speaker)
- “The Impact of Global Patent and Regulatory Reform on Patent Strategies for Biotechnology,” U. Pitt. J. Tech. L. & Pol’y 3, 2008. (Author)
- “District Court Blocks USPTO’s Bid to Revamp Patent Rule,” Intellectual Property Today, April 2008. (Author)
- “Patent Rules Would Impede Innovation,” Washington Technology, 10 December 2007. (Author)
- “IP Protectors, Patents Take Center Stage in Business Litigation and the Global Business Environment,” InsideCounsel, July 2006. (Author)
- “The 21 st Century GC, Today’s General Counsel Must Strive to Develop C-Suite Skill Sets,” InsideCounsel, March 2006. (Author)
- “The Government Contractor Defense: Its Implications in the Wake of Boyle v. United Technologies Corporation,” National Contracts Management Journal, Summer 1989. (Author)
- “An Annotated Bibliography of ‘Lemon’ Law and Other Related Publications,” The Journal of Law and Commerce, 1984. (Author)