Navy Turns to Civilians to Handle Biggest Suit in Defense History : Military: Service says the move is no reflection on Justice Department lawyers, but others aren’t so sure.

In a rebuke to the Justice Department, the Navy is taking the extraordinary step of seeking up to $10 million of outside legal advice on the biggest civil suit in defense industry history.

The service has asked major Washington-area law firms to submit contract bids for legal work in the suit filed in 1991 by General Dynamics Corp. and McDonnell Douglas Corp., in which the two contractors charged that the Navy illegally canceled their contract to build the A-12 attack jet.

The Navy has declined to say how much it is preparing to pay for the legal work, but attorneys familiar with the service’s formal request for bids estimate the outside attorneys will cost taxpayers $5 million to $10 million.

Navy officials insist they are not dissatisfied with the Justice Department’s work, but rather are concerned about the service’s massive vulnerability in the case. The Navy said about $4 billion is at stake--enough to buy a couple of aircraft carriers.

Outside attorneys are not likely to do actual trial work, but rather issue a “second opinion” about whether the Navy should settle the case out of court. The Navy said it expects the opinion to require 40,000 hours of legal work.

“The Navy felt the second opinion was necessary in this case due to the magnitude of the amount at issue and the significance of the case as a potential precedent,” said Lt. Conrad Chun, a Navy spokesman.

A Justice Department attorney said the decision to hire an outside law firm was made by the Navy and referred questions to Navy officials.

“Internal disputes between the Defense Department and Justice Department are fairly common, especially in areas where the Defense Department has a business interest,” said Tim Hatch, a government practice attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. “There must be some (unknown) agenda at work here.”

Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-Ohio), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he intends to ask Navy officials what’s going on.

“I have difficulty understanding why with all the legal money we spend on various departments and the Justice Department, we would be going outside to hire legal help,” he said. “It is an inappropriate way to proceed.”

Michael Hordell, a Washington attorney, said the Navy request is unusual in cases where the government is the defendant, though he added that the entire A-12 case is unusually large and complex. “People go to doctors for second opinions all the time,” Hordell said.

Other attorneys familiar with the case, however, say the move reflects the Navy’s realization that the government’s defense is weak and that the Navy now must face some hard choices.

The decision to get an outside opinion is a bitter pill for the Justice Department. “Justice attorneys are very proud people,” said one private lawyer who asked not to be identified. “There is a lot of ego at stake here.”