Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts Insights provides our in-depth analysis of developments and trends impacting government contracting. Through Insights, our attorneys offer a real-time assessment of the statutory, regulatory, legal, and business-related developments and trends that are shaping the industry. We also examine a full array of non-U.S. public procurement issues, mindful that our clients compete in a global marketplace.Morrison Foerster’s nationally recognized Government Contracts and Public Procurement practice represents the world’s leading companies in the aerospace and defense, intelligence, cybersecurity, information technology, financial and professional services, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and logistics support sectors. We are enlisted to address our clients’ most complex and important legal issues. Our work includes contract and subcontract negotiation and other transactional matters, business and regulatory compliance counseling, internal investigations, bid protests, and a wide array of enforcement and litigation matters. Our clients range from Fortune 50 companies to small and medium-sized companies just entering the public sector. We advise both U.S. and non-U.S. companies involved in municipal, state, federal, and non-U.S. procurement matters.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Tina is Co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. She represents a wide variety of government contractors including information technology, defense, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies, with a focus on general contract counseling and compliance, particularly concerning intellectual property, and cybersecurity matters and federal grant funding.Tina counsels contractors on compliance with federal, state and local acquisition and ethics regulations and with the evolving myriad of requirements pertaining to data security and cybersecurity. She has been involved with numerous internal investigations and compliance reviews, and with mandatory and voluntary disclosures to agencies, and litigation of False Claims Act matters.Tina routinely advises clients concerning:<ul><li>Prime-subcontractor relationships</li><li>Sources of supply and country of origin requirements</li><li>Price reductions and price reporting issues</li><li>Organizational conflicts of interest</li><li>Safeguarding of intellectual property and other proprietary interests</li><li>Licensing and data rights issues</li><li>Handling of classified materials and controlled unclassified information</li><li>Agency suspension and debarment proceedings</li></ul>She also assists clients with due diligence and other activities related to the acquisition of government contracting concerns, and with the drafting and negotiation of teaming agreements, subcontracts, licensing agreements, and cooperative research and development agreements. She also assists clients applying for federal grants (including SBIR and STTR agreements), and those who seek to obtain other transactional authority agreements, as well as those competing for state and local government work.Tina’s litigation experience includes government contracts claims litigation in federal courts and before boards of contract appeals, bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims, and complex disputes in federal courts, including civil fraud and False Claims Act litigation and reverse Freedom of Information Act litigation.Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Tina worked at another large national firm and as a trial attorney in the Office of the General Counsel of the Navy, Navy Litigation Office.<h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Negotiation of largest CHIPS Act federal funding agreement between multinational semiconductor corporation and U.S. Department of Commerce.</li><li>Negotiated prime contract and major subcontracts related to the Department of Energy’s next generation supercomputer program, including extensive IP rights negotiations and negotiation of associated patent rights waivers.</li><li>Negotiated series of other transaction authority agreements with DARPA and associated subcontracts with more than a dozen research universities on behalf of a firm biotech client, including complex IP rights allocations and material transfer agreements.</li><li>Assist clients with FedRAMP authorization process and with development of license agreements for software products sold to federal, state and local government agencies.</li><li>Cyber incident response counseling to some of the largest companies and organizations impacted by security incidents.</li><li>Advises clients on Bayh-Dole reporting of inventions and IP strategies for contracts and grants.</li><li>Conducts due diligence for major government contract mergers and acquisitions.</li></ul>

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Our government contracts and procurement attorneys counsel businesses on legal and compliance issues encountered when doing business with government entities.

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Tina is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. She counsels a wide variety of government contractors on compliance with federal acquisition and ethics regulations. She drafts and negotiates contracts on their behalf and has been involved with numerous internal investigations and compliance reviews, and with bid protest, contract claims, and False Claims Act litigation. She also advises on M&A transactions involving government contractors.

Tina D. Reynolds

Jim Tucker is of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts and Public Procurement Practice Group and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.Jim’s practice runs the gamut of litigation and counseling in federal procurement matters, with an emphasis on bid protests, Cost Accounting Standards disputes, and small business matters. He has represented both protesters and awardees in scores of protests before the Government Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, and procuring agencies, in acquisitions ranging from small business procurements to multibillion-dollar contracts of global significance. His representative protest matters span the aerospace sector, the Intelligence Community, base operations and logistics, healthcare, nuclear and environmental work, and information technology and software acquisitions. His protests have included both classified and unclassified programs. In addition to prevailing in published decisions, Jim has also secured favorable corrective action on behalf of clients in a wide variety of protests that were resolved without a published decision.Jim’s work also focuses on disputes over cost allowability and compliance with the Cost Accounting Standards, and he has appeared before the Armed Services and Civilian Boards of Contract Appeals, in size and status protests before Small Business Administration (SBA) area offices, and appeals before the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals. Jim regularly counsels clients on contract interpretation, organizational conflicts of interest, and small business compliance.Jim graduated with high honors from the George Washington University Law School, where he focused his studies on federal procurement law, was a member of the Law Review, and interned with the General Services Administration’s suspension and debarment office. Jim also holds a degree in theology magna cum laude from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a bachelor’s degree in classical languages and literature summa cum laude from the University of Kentucky, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

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Jim maintains an active practice in bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and contracting agencies and counsels clients in contract disputes and compliance obligations.

Jim Tucker is of counsel in Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts and Public Procurement Practice Group and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Jim’s practice runs the gamut of litigation and counseling in federal procurement matters, with an emphasis on bid protests, Cost Accounting Standards disputes, and small business matters.

James Tucker

<div style="margin-bottom: 15px;" class="videoWrapper"><iframe class="sticky-video" title="Meet Alex Ward, Government Contracts Practice Co-Chair" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/TkliwdSlTaQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="1" title="iframe"></iframe></div>J. Alex Ward is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts and Public Procurement group. His practice covers a full range of government contracts matters, including investigations, bid protests, claims, general litigation, corporate transactions, and counseling. Alex strives in all matters is to provide his clients the highest level of efficient and effective representation.Alex represents contractors in internal and external investigations, disclosures to the government, and qui tam litigation, with great success in reducing or eliminating his clients’ exposure through active engagement with the government. His work in this area includes obtaining numerous declinations and dismissals of False Claims Act cases in their earliest stages, sparing his clients the cost, risk, and exposure of litigation.He has also served as lead counsel in dozens of bid protests involving military and civilian agency procurements of a wide range of products and services, including all manner of pre- and post-award protests in the GAO, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and state tribunals, as well as appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and size protest appeals before the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals.Alex handles all aspects of the claims process, from the initial assessment and drafting of requests for equitable adjustment through litigation in the Boards of Contract Appeals and the Court of Federal Claims. Alex’s practice also covers the full gamut of other controversies confronting government contractors, including prime-sub, teaming partner, employer-employee, competitor, and indemnification disputes. His litigation work also includes a wide variety of pro bono engagements, in which he has represented both individual and institutional clients in matters ranging from immigration and criminal defense to sustainable procurement and protection of the environment.Prior to joining the firm, Alex served in the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer and an Assistant to the General Counsel of the Army responsible for civil works and international matters, and as a clerk for judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the D.C. Circuit. He is a member of the Boards of the Morrison & Foerster Foundation and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and of Law360’s Government Contracts Editorial Board.

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Alex is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts and Public Procurement practice. His practice covers a full range of government contracts matters, including bid protests, claims, investigations, corporate transactions, and counseling.

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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.Read about our <a href="http://govcon.mofo.com/editors/">Authors</a>.Never miss a post. Subscribe to get real-time updates.

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James A. Tucker

Telesto: Another Call For Clarity In Other Transactions Protest Jurisdiction

Strengthening the American Drone Industrial Base

Bid Protest Spotlight: Jurisdiction, Price Range, Late-Is-Late

Trump Issues Executive Order on Cybersecurity Rolling Back Some Prior Policies and Introducing New Ones

GAO Reaffirms Agencies’ Discretion to Award Sole-Source SBIR Phase III Contracts (Even to a Successor-in-Interest)

As we previously <a href="https://govcon.mofo.com/small-business/sba-issues-new-rules-on-ppp-loan-forgiveness-and-loan-review-procedures/">reported</a>, when the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued its first <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares/assistance-for-small-businesses">Interim Final Rule on SBA Loan Review Procedures and Related Borrower and Lender Responsibilities</a> back in May,<a name="_ftnref1" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a> SBA explained that it could review a borrower’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application or loan forgiveness application at any time to determine (a) if the borrower was eligible for the loan, (b) whether the borrower calculated the loan amount correctly, or (c) whether the borrower is entitled to loan forgiveness amounts claimed in the forgiveness application. This rule also stated that borrowers would have a chance to appeal SBA’s determination, promising to provide further guidance on that process in the future. That guidance came earlier this week when SBA issued an interim final <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP-IFR-Appeals-of-SBA-Loan-Review-Decisions-Under-the-PPP.pdf">rule</a> detailing the procedures for the appeal process at the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA).The rule explained that borrowers have 30 days to appeal an official written decision by the SBA finding that the borrower (1) was ineligible for the PPP loan, (2) was ineligible for the amount received or that the borrower used the loan for unauthorized purposes, (3) is ineligible for loan forgiveness in the amount determined by the lender in its full or partial approval decision issued to SBA, and/or (4) is ineligible for loan forgiveness in any amount when the lender has issued a full denial decision to SBA. Importantly, a borrower’s appeal of SBA’s decision will not extend the deferral period of the SBA loan.The rule also clarifies that only the borrower, not the individual owners of a borrower or lenders, may bring an appeal. Moreover, borrowers cannot file an OHA appeal of any decision made by a lender, though it can request SBA (not OHA) to review the lender’s decision to deny a forgiveness application in full. If SBA remits to the lender the loan forgiveness amount set forth in the lender’s decision to SBA, then the borrower cannot file an appeal at OHA.The borrower’s appeal petition must include the basis for OHA’s jurisdiction, including evidence that the borrower filed the petition within 30 days of receiving the official written decision or notice by the lender of the SBA, whichever is earlier. The borrower should include a copy of the loan review decision or a description of the decision if a copy is unavailable. Assigned with the burden of proof, the borrower’s petition must also present a full and specific statement, including all factual information and legal arguments, as to why a preponderance of the evidence shows the SBA loan review decision is clearly erroneous.A borrower must also submit certain financial information with its appeal petition. Specifically, the borrower must submit signed copies of its payroll tax filings reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the relevant period. If not a part of the original PPP loan forgiveness application, the borrower must also submit state quarterly business and individual employee wage reporting and unemployment insurance tax filings for the relevant period. For self‑employed individuals or partners in a partnership, the borrowers must also submit their federal tax returns with the appropriate schedules, or an explanation as to why they are not relevant or available.  The SBA determined that submission of this financial information, or an explanation as to why they are not relevant or not available, is appropriate to support SBA’s efforts to assess the borrower’s compliance with the PPP requirements set forth in the statute, rules, and guidance.Only SBA (and not any other party) will be given the opportunity to respond to appeal petitions before the close of record. And, according to the interim final rule, the Judge will issue his or her decision within 45 calendar days after the close of record, as practicable. The Judge’s decision on the appeal is an initial decision. However, unless a request for review or a request for reconsideration is filed, an initial decision shall become the final decision of SBA 30 calendar days after its service. OHA’s decision will be published, although borrowers will have an opportunity to request that portions of the decision be redacted. Importantly, the rule explains that OHA’s decision relates only to the PPP program and will not apply to the 7(a) Loan Program, generally, or any interpretation of SBA’s regulations at part 120 or 121 (i.e., SBA’s regulations covering business loans and small business size status).You may submit comments, identified by number SBA-2020-0042, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.<a name="_ftn1" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> On June 22, 2020, SBA issued <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP--IFR--Revisions-to-Loan-Forgiveness-Interim-Final-Rule-and-SBA-Loan-Review-Procedures-Interim-Final-Rule.pdf">revisions</a> to this rule for consistency with the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (“PPP Flexibility Act”); see 85 Fed. Reg. 38304 (June 26, 2020).

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Damien is a partner in the firm’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. He represents clients in all facets of government contracts transactions, as well as regulatory counseling, subcon

Damien Specht

Damien C. Specht

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Ali Young is an associate in the Government Contracts practice in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office.

Alissandra Young McCann

Ali Young is an associate in the Government Contracts practice in Morrison Foerster’s Washington, D.C. office.

Alissandra McCann

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SBA Issues Promised Appeals Procedures for PPP Loan Review Decisions

SBA Issues Final Rule on Appeals Process for PPP Loan Review Decisions

As we previously reported, when the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued its first Interim Final Rule on SBA Loan Review Procedures and Related Borrower a

SBA Issues Promised Appeals Procedures for PPP Loan Review Decisions

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: What changes were made in the second edition of the FCPA Resource Guide? What verdict did a UK jury reach in a case involving allegations of bribery in Iraq?  What are the latest developments in Mexico’s investigation into corruption allegations involving its national oil company? The answers to these questions and more are here in our July 2020 Top 10.Read our<a href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/200813-top-10-anti-corruption.html"> client alert</a>.

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James Koukios is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group and also serves as co-head of the FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption Practice.

James Koukios

James Koukios is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White-Collar Defense Group and serves as Global Co-Head of the FCPA + Anti-Corruption Practice.

James M. Koukios

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Charles (Chuck) Duross serves as co-chair of the firm’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Practice Group and is a co-leader of the FCPA and Global Anti-Corruption practice.

Charles Duross

Charles (Chuck) Duross serves as co-head of Morrison Foerster’s FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption practice.

Charles E. Duross

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Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for July 2020

Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for March 2021

In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important international anti-corrupt

Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for July 2020