Earl Baker Email & Phone Number

Orange, California, United States

Having retired from a very rewarding 30-year career as an attorney for the U.S. Air Force, The Department of Defense, and the NASA Office of Inspector General, I now offer freelance legal representation, advice, and consulting services to select clients in the fields of Federal procurement, government oversight, audits, criminal investigations, ethics, compliance, fraud, the False Claims Act, and more.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

I served as the primary provider of legal support and advice to OIG staff throughout California including JPL, the Ames Research Center, and the Armstrong (formerly Dryden) Flight Research Center. This support covered the entire range of the OIG’s oversight of NASA programs and operations, including criminal investigations, program and financial audits, administrative inspections and reviews, and myriad contract compliance issues. I also served as the office manager and senior OIG representative at JPL, responsible for liaison with Laboratory management on matters of interest to the Inspector General. I acted as agency counsel in administrative litigation in which the OIG was a party or had a substantial interest, and assisted the Justice Department in litigation in which the OIG participated as part of the prosecution team. Areas of concentration included Government ethics, Federal procurement law, and the False Claims Act.

Santa Ana, California

Assistant Counsel, Office of Counsel, Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC), Santa Ana. DCMC Santa Ana (which has since then been re-named DCMA Santa Ana) was responsible for the administration and oversight of several billion dollars’ worth of defense contracts awarded by the military services to contractors in greater Orange County and southern Los Angeles County. Provided legal advice and guidance to local commanders, contracting officers, and other agency personnel on the entire range of contract administration issues to ensure that both the contractor and the agency remained in compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and all other applicable statutes and regulations. Represented the Government in litigation before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and other tribunals. Administered the agency’s ethics program, and was very active in detecting, reporting, and assisting in the investigation and prosecution of, contract fraud.

Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota

As ADC, was essentially the Public Defender for a base population of over 5,000 active duty Air Force personnel. Represented both officer and enlisted personnel in courts-martial, administrative discharge proceedings, non-judicial disciplinary actions, and myriad other adverse administrative actions. In addition to representing Minot clients, was often tasked with representing clients at other bases, trying courts-martial as far away as Colorado and New Mexico.

Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota

Served as the Chief of Civil Law in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. Also acted as Chief of the Preventive Law and Legal Assistance programs, and was the most active litigator in the office, prosecuting numerous courts-martial and administrative discharge boards.

J.D., Law

Activities and Societies: Order of the Coif; Traynor Honor Society; Chairman of McGeorge Student Publications Board, 1988-89Graduating.

B.S., Aerospace Engineering

Attended the University of Notre Dame on a Four-Year Air Force ROTC academic scholarship. Graduated from Notre Dame with a Bachelor.