While the health of our citizens is, as it must be, the primary focus of the response, Congress and the Executive Branch are scrambling to ensure that companies have sufficient liquidity to continue operations, and continue...more
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) manages nine healthcare related ‘schedules,’ groups of umbrella contracts used to order medical supplies and services, under the Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) program. These schedules...more
A recent dispute between a government contractor and the Army in the Court of Federal Claims has raised the issue of whether procedures for validating restrictions on technical data apply to military contractors’ vendor...more
On November 8, 2019, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released an expansive proposed rule to merge its two mentor-protégé programs, while also modifying a number of rules applicable to participants in the program....more
On October 31, 2019, President Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 13897 – “Improving Federal Contractor Operations by Revoking Executive Order 13495.” Taking effect immediately, EO 13897 revokes EO 13495 previously issued by...more
Given the continued high volume of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in the federal marketplace, buyers and sellers need to be aware of the developing body of case law at Government Accountability Office (GAO) and...more
10/29/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Bid Protests ,
Buyers ,
COFC ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Mergers ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sellers ,
Standing
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Bitmanagement Software GMBH vs. The United States determined the United States was not liable for copyright infringement because, based on the interactions between the...more
In 2016, the Small Business Administration (SBA) established a new government wide mentor-protégé program for small businesses called the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program (ASMPP). The purpose of the program was for...more
A major shift in cybersecurity requirements for Department of Defense (DoD) contractors is about to come into effect—earlier this month the DoD released for public comment the long-anticipated Version 0.4 of the draft...more
10/1/2019
/ Auditors ,
Certification Requirements ,
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Public Comment ,
Third-Party Service Provider
A recent decision in Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc. v. Department of Agriculture, CBCA 6029, 6030, by the United States Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA), upheld a contract provision that imposed greater obligations...more
9/23/2019
/ Appeals ,
CBCA ,
Contract Claims ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Liability ,
Service Contract Act ,
Wage and Hour
The Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General recently issued a report summarizing the findings of an audit into the protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) on contractor networks. Based on an in-depth...more
8/7/2019
/ Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
Risk Mitigation
Late last month, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) issued a decision adhering to its prior line of cases discussing when present effect will be given to an indication of interest...more
December of 2018 brought many potential changes to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) regulations that impact small businesses. First, on December 4, 2018, the SBA issued a lengthy proposed rule implementing...more
1/11/2019
/ Federal Contractors ,
Independent Contractors ,
NAICS ,
NDAA ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Recertification ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration
On November 5, 2018, the Federal Circuit held in a precedential decision that bonding requirements in FAR 52.228-15, “Performance and Payment Bonds—Construction,” were read into all construction contracts by operation of law...more
Conditioned Agreements to Negotiate (CAN) -
When acquiring or selling small businesses, government contractors need to be cognizant of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) “present effect rule.” Under this rule, SBA...more
10/30/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Affiliated-Business Arrangements ,
Agreement To Negotiate ,
Business Ownership ,
Buyers ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Contractors ,
Letters of Intent ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
SBA ,
Sellers ,
Selling a Business ,
Small Business ,
Terms and Conditions
On September 24, 2018, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a final rule that alters its regulations governing the Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Program. The final rule, “VA Veteran-Owned Small...more
9/26/2018
/ Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Joint Venture ,
NDAA ,
New Rules ,
Ownership Rules ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business ,
Vendors ,
Verification Requirements ,
Veterans
In early April, the GAO issued a final rule revising the existing bid protest process—the major revisions being the introduction of an Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS) and a protest filing fee. When the rule takes...more
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is responsible for developing information security standards and guidelines—including minimum requirements for federal information systems. At the end of February,...more
On January 24, 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied a bid protest that in part, focused on the issue of price credit. VT Halter Marine, Inc. (VT) protested the award of a Department of the Army contract—for...more
Teaming Arrangements under the FAR -
Under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 9.6, a contractor teaming arrangement is when:
1. Two or more companies form a partnership or joint venture to act as a potential prime...more
In 2016, Congress instructed the Department of Defense (DoD) to review its procurement regulations by convening a panel of procurement professionals—from both the public and private sectors. This panel became known as the...more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims recently issued a 2017 statistical report—covering the government’s fiscal year October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017. During this time, 652 suits filed were filed at the Court and 1,035 suits...more
In an unsealed opinion on October 30, 2017, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Nancy Firestone held that a company, which should have been deemed ineligible from bidding, was allowed to proceed with a contract award because...more
11/14/2017
/ Bid Protests ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Federal Contractors ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Joint Venture ,
NASA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SBA ,
Set-Asides ,
Small Business ,
Standing
Last month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington denied a motion to limit damages against a government contractor, United States ex rel. Savage v. Washington Closure Hanford LLC, where the government...more
9/25/2017
/ Benefit Off-Sets ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Contract Terms ,
Damage Caps ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False-Certification of Conformance ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Nuclear Waste ,
Site Remediation ,
Subcontractors ,
WOSB
The level of devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida, respectively, is estimated to have caused $150-200 billion in damages. With this devastation comes a multibillion-dollar recovery effort that...more