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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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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January 21, 2020 - Protests & Litigation
2019 Protest Roundup
By: Victoria Dalcourt Angle
This installment of our Law360 bid protest spotlight examines two protest decisions released in December, provides a year-end review of key bid protest decisions from 2019, and discusses a few takeaways from the U.S. Government Accountability Office ‘s fiscal year 2019 report on its
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January 17, 2020 - National Security
Foreign Investment 2020 (Part 5): Final CFIUS Rules Announced
By: Charles L. Capito
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has released final regulations to implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), expanding the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). As we discussed in previous alerts in this series, the regulations
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January 15, 2020 - Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for December 2019
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: What corporate foreign bribery enforcement actions were
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January 15, 2020 - Protests & Litigation, Compliance
Defective Certifications: Where to Draw the Line?
By: Caitlin A. Crujido
Somewhat surprisingly, the end of 2019 provided two decisions regarding defective certifications, including one from the Federal Circuit. The first case, Kirlin Builders, LLC , ASBCA No. 61901, reminds readers that a defective certification, as opposed to no certification at all, is a correctable
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January 07, 2020 - Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
A Watershed Moment in Cybersecurity for Government Contractors – Anticipated Impacts of the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program
By: Tina D. Reynolds
As 2020 begins, one of the biggest changes facing contractors working with the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) is the implementation of DoD’s enhanced cybersecurity regulations, known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) program. CMMC has the potential to be a game changer
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December 16, 2019 - Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Top 10 International Anti-Corruption Developments for November 2019
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: Was the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
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