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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March 06, 2020 - Protests & Litigation
February 2020 Bid Protest Roundup (Law360 Spotlight)
By: Sandeep N. Nandivada
This installment of our monthly Law360 bid protest spotlight features three noteworthy decisions from the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) concerning reprocurement contracts, timeliness rules, and discussions. Steel Point Solutions, LLC addresses the proper scope of reprocurement contracts. Vizocom provides a cautionary tale for contractors
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March 05, 2020 - Federal Procurement, Labor & Employment, Defense, Compliance, Coronavirus
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Keep Calm, Wash Your Hands, and Know Your Rights
By: Locke Bell
As the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, invades more and more of everyday life, the chance it will affect government contracts and government contractors becomes more and more likely. These effects might include workforce reductions from those out sick, travel restrictions, base closures, or telework. Indeed,
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February 24, 2020 - Defense, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
MoFo Webinar: Are You Ready for CMMC? Do You Need to Be?
By: Tina D. Reynolds
Please join Morrison & Foerster LLP, Coalfire Federal, and Grant Thornton Public Sector on Thursday, February 27 at 12PM EST for a deep dive into the key aspects of the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) process and how it will affect
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February 24, 2020 - False Claims Act
The Procurement Lawyer: Imputation of False Claims Act Liability to Prime Contractors
By: Sandeep N. Nandivada
Morrison & Foerster Government Contracts associate Sandeep Nandivada, with assistance from law clerk David Allman*, discuss FCA liability for prime contractors in this issue of the American Bar Association’s The Procurement Lawyer publication. See below for an excerpt: The specter of the civil False
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February 19, 2020 - International Public Procurement
The Government Contractor: Here Is How You Actually Negotiate IP Rights In Other Transactions
Although there is great deal being written these days about DOD’s increasing use of Other Transactions “OTs”, no one explains how you actually negotiate OT terms and conditions, particularly the intellectual property clauses that are the most troublesome for contractors. Jay DeVecchio fixes that,
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February 14, 2020 - Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for January 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: Which countries brought the largest coordinated foreign
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February 13, 2020 - Federal Procurement, Domestic Preferences, Health Care
Trade Agreements Act Compliance: Federal Circuit Clarifies Country of Origin and Place of Manufacture Analyses
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
A variety of arcane domestic-preference regimes apply to many Federal procurements – the Buy American Act (BAA), the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), the Berry Amendment, and the Cargo Preference Act, to name a few. In Acetris Health, LLC v. United States , the Court
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February 10, 2020 - Protests & Litigation
January 2020 Bid Protest Roundup
By: Locke Bell
This installment of our monthly Law360 bid protest bid protest spotlight examines three protest decisions addressing challenges to contractor performance assessment reports (“CPARs”), procurements through the General Services Administration’s (“GSA”) Federal Supply Schedules (“FSS”), and standing to protest. In Colonna’s Shipyard, Inc. , the
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February 04, 2020 - Protests & Litigation, Defense, Compliance, Data Rights, Intellectual Property
Court of Federal Claims Marks Its Territory, Confirms CDA Jurisdiction Over Proprietary Legends
By: James A. Tucker and Locke Bell
The Court of Federal Claims recently affirmed its jurisdiction to settle disputes over protective markings in Raytheon Co. v. United States. [i] In that case, Raytheon asked the Court to review a contracting officer’s demand that Raytheon replace its common proprietary, not-subject-to-release-under-FOIA [ii] marking
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February 03, 2020 - Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Department of Defense Takes a More Gradual Approach to Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification
By: Tina D. Reynolds
On January 31, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued the widely anticipated final version (v.1) of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Model. The version followed seven drafts and multiple rounds of comments from the contracting community. In the lead up to the
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