Welcome to the Government Contracts Insights Blog

Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts Insights blog provides an in-depth analysis of news, developments, and trends impacting government contracting and procurement. Through Insights, attorneys from our nationally recognized Government Contracts and Public Procurement practice will offer a real-time assessment of the statutory, regulatory, legal, and business-related developments that are shaping the industry. This blog will also examine a full array of U.S. and non-U.S. public procurement issues, mindful that our clients compete in a global marketplace.

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April 29, 2022 - False Claims Act
Aerojet Settles False Claims Act Case Alleging That the Company Misrepresented Its Compliance with Cybersecurity Requirements
By: J. Alex Ward, Tina D. Reynolds and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Aerojet and the qui tam relator have entered into a 13th hour settlement—after a jury was seated and the trial was underway—to resolve the much-watched United States ex rel. Brian Markus v. Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. False Claims Act (“FCA”) case. The parties—including the Department
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April 12, 2022 - Coronavirus
Eleventh Circuit Hears Oral Argument in EO 14042 Preliminary Injunction Appeal
By: Joseph R. Palmore, J. Alex Ward and Krista A. Nunez
Lawyers for the U.S. government and challengers to the federal contractor vaccine mandate both faced tough questions from an Eleventh Circuit panel in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, April 8, 2022. The appeal from the Southern District of Georgia’s decision preliminarily enjoining Executive Order 14042
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April 11, 2022 - Acquisition Regulations
Sustainable Procurement FAR Case to Clarify FAR Part 23
By: Markus Gerhard Speidel
Regulatory action around sustainable procurement and climate change continues to heat up. A recent Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) case on Sustainable Procurement takes another step towards implementing the Biden administration’s ambitious vision of leveraging federal procurement to confront the climate crisis. FAR case 2022-006 will implement
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April 09, 2022 - Protests & Litigation
March 2022 Bid Protest Roundup: Delayed Debriefings, Conflicts of Interest, and Insufficient Documentation
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup covers two recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions and a decision from the Court of Federal Claims. All involve defense procurements, but each offers a unique lesson for offerors and government procurement professionals. This Roundup features a protester that
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April 07, 2022 - Protests & Litigation
OFCCP Signals Return to More Aggressive and Less Transparent Audits
By: Andrew R. Turnbull
In the last three weeks alone, OFCCP has issued two significant Directives and a notice of proposed rulemaking, signaling its intent to be far more aggressive and less transparent in compliance evaluations than under the Trump Administration. Read the full client alert.
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April 06, 2022 - False Claims Act
False Claims in Independent Research and Development (IR&D): Federal District Court Adopts ATK Thiokol as the Knowledge Standard
By: Locke Bell
Many government contractors, like other private enterprises, invest heavily in research and development (R&D) to improve the products and services they offer, in hopes of better meeting their customers’ needs. When those R&D efforts are “independent” of any particular contract—hence “IR&D” or “IRAD”—the associated
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March 31, 2022 - Protests & Litigation
FAR Council Tightens Buy American Act Requirements
By: Markus Gerhard Speidel
Earlier this month, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) issued a final rule tightening the Buy American Act preference for domestic products and construction materials. The final rule makes only limited changes to the proposed rule we previously commented on. First , the
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March 29, 2022 - Defense
DOD Adds Enhanced Post-Award Debriefing to the DFARS
By: James A. Tucker
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued a final rule to add the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act’s enhanced post-award debriefing rights to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The rule took effect immediately on March 18, 2022, and formalizes
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March 07, 2022 - Protests & Litigation
February 2022 Bid Protest Roundup: Key Personnel Changes, Agency Computer Glitches, and Ambiguous Solicitations
By: James A. Tucker
This month’s roundup considers three recent protests: (1) an important decision by the Court of Federal Claims rejecting controversial precedents of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concerning key personnel unavailability; (2) a cautionary tale from the GAO, where an agency computer system prevented
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March 01, 2022 - Protests & Litigation
Private Sector Directed to Be on Alert for Potential Russian Cyber Attacks
By: Tina D. Reynolds
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine becomes a protracted campaign, and as the United States and other countries impose sanctions and other penalties on Russia in response, the possibility of Russian cyberattacks directed at the West (or that spill from Ukraine) looms large. In
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