Roza Sheffield

Roza Sheffield is a skilled government contracts litigator and counselor in Holland & Knight's Tysons office. Ms. Sheffield brings nearly 11 years of experience from her service in the Air Force Judge Advocate Corps (JAG), where she built a strong foundation in federal litigation, government procurement and national security law. Her extensive background includes courtroom advocacy and providing strategic legal counsel on complex military and federal matters. With a proven track record of defending high-stakes government contracts and providing strategic legal counsel, Ms. Sheffield offers her clients valuable insights and knowledge in government contract disputes and acquisitions.

As chief of the Field Support Branch and chief of contingency contracting, Ms. Sheffield led a team of attorneys providing legal guidance on a wide array of contract matters, including source selections, claims, terminations and fiscal law. She was also a key advisor on the Sentinel Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program, the U.S. Department of Defense's top priority mission to modernize the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system.

In her role as the litigation team lead for the Air Force Acquisitions, Fiscal Law and Litigation Directorate, Ms. Sheffield managed a team defending more than $15 billion in contracts across the Air Force, Space Force and other commands. She successfully handled bid protests at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), defending more than $8 billion in mission-critical contracts. Ms. Sheffield also has extensive litigation experience with large aircraft procurement programs and foreign military sales contracts (FMS).

Ms. Sheffield has litigated more than 30 trials and administrative board proceedings as both prosecutor and defense counsel. In addition, she has advised on high-profile investigations for various federal agencies, to help ensure compliance and address critical legal issues. She also served as counsel for ethics and compliance matters, advising senior military leadership including during her deployment to Afghanistan.

Notably, Ms. Sheffield played a key role in paving the way for the first sanctions in Afghanistan, providing counsel on human rights violations and supporting congressional investigations for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). She also adjudicated claims against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S. government. Additionally, while deployed, she advised on national security, intelligence and operations law matters as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, United States Forces-Afghanistan/legal advisor (LEGAD), NATO.