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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January 06, 2021 - Protests & Litigation
December 2020/Annual Bid Protest Roundup (Law360 Spotlight)
By: Victoria Dalcourt Angle
This installment of our monthly Law360 bid protest spotlight examines four recent protest decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), discusses a few key takeaways from the GAO’s annual report, and provides a year-end review of key bid protest decisions from 2020. This
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January 05, 2021 - Acquisition Regulations
MoFo Law Clerk Co-Authors Contract Management Article on Sustainable Procurement
By: Markus Gerhard Speidel
MoFo law clerk Markus Speidel co-wrote an article for National Contract Management Association’s Contract Management magazine with George Washington University Law School Professor Steven Schooner. The article, titled “‘Warming Up’ to Sustainable Procurement,” discusses how the procurement community can address climate change via sustainable
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December 16, 2020 - Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for November 2020
By: James M. Koukios and Charles E. Duross
In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important international anti-corruption developments from the past month, with links to primary resources. This month we ask: How will the election of Joe Biden as president
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December 15, 2020 - Federal Procurement, National Security
Initial Thoughts on the 2021 NDAA’s Procurement Provisions
By: J. Alex Ward, James A. Tucker and Locke Bell
Both houses of Congress now have voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. Although the threat of a presidential veto still hangs over the NDAA, we highlight below a few of the procurement-related provisions that likely will remain
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December 08, 2020 - Protests & Litigation
November 2020 Bid Protest Roundup (Law360 Spotlight)
By: Alissandra Young McCann
This installment of our monthly Law360 bid protest spotlight examines three protest decisions from three different forums: one from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), one from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and one from U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC).
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November 30, 2020 - Small Business
CIO-SP4 Draft RFP Implications for JV/Partnerships
By: Tyler J. Sewell, Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
The National Institute for Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) released its draft request for proposals (the “Draft RFP”) for the new $40 billion Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) (succeeding the popular CIO-SP3) earlier this year.
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November 24, 2020 - Protests & Litigation
A Rose by Any Other Name: Offeror Remained the Same Entity for Bidding Purposes Despite Converting From a Corporation to a Limited Liability Company
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
We have previously addressed the challenges and legal risks of an offeror being the subject of a major transaction while it has a proposal pending for a Federal procurement. In numerous bid protest decisions, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has sketched the outlines
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November 23, 2020 - Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Deadline Fast Approaching for DoD Contractors and Subcontractors to Report Cyber Compliance
By: Tina D. Reynolds
As we previously reported, the Department of Defense (DoD) has issued an interim rule that requires all contractors and subcontractors that store, process, generate, transmit or access “covered defense information” to conduct a self- assessment of compliance with NIST SP 800-171 using the DoD
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November 23, 2020 - Small Business
New Small Business Rules: 8(a) Program
By: Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann
As we recently discussed, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has published a long-awaited rule that made important changes to numerous small business contracting programs and the rules Federal agencies must follow when contracting with small businesses. These changes went into effect on November
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November 16, 2020 - Small Business
Small Business Participation In Government Contracts: Why It’s Important, How To Qualify, Benefits To Enjoy, And Traps To Avoid
By: Tina D. Reynolds, Victoria Dalcourt Angle and Roke Iko
In fiscal year 2019, federal agencies awarded $132.9 billion in contracts to small businesses. This is a reflection of policy goals, as Congress and federal agencies have long worked to provide business opportunities to small business concerns through federal contracts and subcontracts. The Federal
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