The implications of the Federal Circuit’s Blue & Gold waiver rule – pursuant to which a disappointed offeror waives any protest grounds it may have had to the terms of a solicitation that the offeror could have, but failed...more
In our previous blog article, we discussed the Federal Circuit’s decision in Inserso Corp. v. United States, 961 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2020), in which a split panel held a protest cannot be brought in the U.S. Court of Federal...more
...As most contractors know, a good protest requires a lot of thought and commitment to convince an agency or tribunal of why corrective action should be taken. The last thing a protester wants is to learn – too late – that...more
8/5/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bid Protests ,
Bid Solicitation ,
COFC ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Debriefing ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Federal Contractors ,
Limitation Periods ,
Reaffirmation ,
Small Business ,
U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) ,
Waiver of Rights
In a case of first impression, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (“CBCA”) ruled that a contractor performing task orders issued against a government-wide acquisition contract (“GWAC”) properly submitted its claims to the...more
5/30/2019
/ Appeals ,
CBCA ,
Contract Claims ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
GWACs ,
Information Technology ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Service Contract Act ,
USDA
The April issue of National Defense Magazine brought a well-written article by Susan Cassidy and her colleagues at Covington & Burling LLP on a recent DOD IG report analyzing (and criticizing) spare aviation parts pricing,...more
If you follow professional football, you are familiar with the message generally given to an aspiring player just before he is cut – “Coach wants to see you. Bring your playbook.” The playbook, that step-by-step guide to...more
On November 27, 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released its Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2018.
Under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (“CICA”), GAO is required to...more
By memorandum dated June 7, 2018, Shay Assad, DoD’s Director, Defense Pricing/Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, has reversed decades of procurement practice that has been embraced by industry and the government...more
Auditing by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”) is a ubiquitous cost of doing business with the Department of Defense, and one which many defense contractors have come to dread. Unfortunately, far too often the DCAA’s...more
On May 11, President Donald Trump issued his long-awaited Executive Order on cybersecurity, the ‘‘Presidential Executive Order on Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure.’’ It had been...more
5/31/2017
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Data Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration
Section 820 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (“NDAA”) establishes a new Defense Cost Accounting Standards Board (“D-CASB”) to oversee the application of the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) to...more
An organizational conflict of interest (OCI) arises when the performance of one contract undermines a contractor’s objectivity or creates an unfair competitive advantage with respect to another contract. An agency cannot...more
Volume X – Accounting for the Cost of Business Combinations Under Government Contracts -
Mergers and acquisitions create additional costs and complex accounting issues for government contractors. There are fees for...more
10/18/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) ,
Depreciation ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financing ,
Golden Parachutes ,
Goodwill ,
Interest Payments ,
Mergers ,
Novation ,
Pensions
Last month, we discussed the extent to which a foreign buyer can introduce an unacceptable level of foreign ownership, control, or influence (“FOCI”) that, absent mitigation, will render the target ineligible for the facility...more
9/2/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Defense Production Act ,
Exon-Florio ,
FOCI ,
Foreign Investment ,
Interagency Agreement ,
National Security ,
Ownership Rules
Welcome to Sheppard Mullin’s Weekly Web Wrap-Up, a quick list of the past week’s top news in the social media, gaming, and virtual goods and currencies industries curated by Social Media & Games Team. Here are some of the...more
Not every potential buyer is a U.S. corporation controlled by U.S. interests. It is important, both for the buyer and the seller, to understand the implications of foreign ownership, control, or influence (“FOCI”) on the...more
Numerous government contracts programs support small businesses. There are prime contracts set aside for various categories of small business entities. Agencies have small business contracting goals and take them very...more
Note: The following post is adapted from the forthcoming 2016/2017 GSA Schedule Handbook, published by ThompsonWest, due out later this year.
Any way you look at it, 2016 will be an interesting year. You may have heard...more
An organizational conflict of interest (“OCI”) arises when the performance of one contract undermines a contractor’s objectivity or creates an unfair competitive advantage with respect to another contract. An agency cannot...more
M&A transactions, like most transactions in life, involve a cost/benefit analysis. Some cost/benefit analyses are relatively easy to perform. For example, if I buy an energy efficient appliance, I can calculate the likely...more
This posting is the fourth in our ten-part series on unique issues that arise in connection with mergers and acquisitions involving government contractors and subcontractors. Parts 1 through 3 focused on the structure of the...more
Thus far in this ten-part series, we have discussed whether and how existing contracts with the Government can be transferred to the buyer or surviving entity when an acquisition, merger, or consolidation occurs. Today, we...more
This posting is the second in a ten-part series on unique issues that arise in the acquisition and disposition of a company that performs government contracts or subcontracts. Part 1 focused on the types of deal structures...more
FAR 52.222-50 prohibits “human trafficking.” To quote the current GEICO TV commercials, “Everybody knows that.” But do you know exactly what the FAR prohibits? The answer includes some obvious pernicious acts, but it also...more
With today’s posting, we begin a ten-part series on unique issues that arise in connection with the acquisition or disposition of a company that performs government contracts or subcontracts. These issues obviously come into...more