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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August 16, 2017 - Protests & Litigation
Stays of Contract Award and Performance (Post-Award Protest Primer #6)
By: James A. Tucker
Today we’ll discuss stays of award and performance during the pendency of a bid protest. There are two kinds of protest stays: pre-award stays and post-award stays. Although the former are outside the scope of this primer, we’ll briefly address them first for the
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August 07, 2017 - Protests & Litigation
GAO Protective Orders (Post-Award Protest Primer #5)
By: James A. Tucker
Post-award protests generally involve arguments about confidential, source-selection sensitive information – proprietary bid and proposal material, past performance data, cost and pricing information, nonpublic agency estimates, and the judgments of agency evaluators and source selection personnel. Neither the government nor the competitors want that
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July 20, 2017 - Protests & Litigation
Bid Protest Remedies (Post-Award Protest Primer #4)
By: James A. Tucker
We’ve discussed debriefings and the timelines and timeliness rules that apply to post-award protests. Today we’ll discuss remedies. If you file a protest to challenge a contract award and you win the protest, that means you win the contract, right? Well, certainly not immediately.
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July 13, 2017 - Protests & Litigation
Timeliness and Timelines (Post-Award Protest Primer #3)
By: James A. Tucker
Now that we’ve discussed the award letter and debriefings , we’ll move on to next steps: timeliness of initial protest filings and the protest timeline. In the context of all post-award debriefings, there are two timeliness considerations: First, meeting the GAO’s timeliness requirements and, second, whether
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July 06, 2017 - Protests & Litigation
Debriefings (Post-Award Protest Primer #2)
By: James A. Tucker
You just received an email: “We appreciate your interest in the XYZ procurement. The Agency determined that your proposal did not represent the best value to the Government. Award has been made to Acme Corp. at a price of $50,000,000.” After kicking your trashcan
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July 06, 2017 - Federal Procurement, Protests & Litigation
Court of Federal Claims Asserts Jurisdiction Over OTA Claim
By: Locke Bell
The Court of Federal Claims held for the first time last Friday that damages were available for the Government’s alleged breach of an other transaction agreement (“OTA”), declining to dismiss a contractor’s $47 million claim against the Government for breach of a Space Act
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June 27, 2017 - Protests & Litigation
An Introduction to Bid Protests (Post-Award Protest Primer #1)
By: James A. Tucker
Welcome to the first in a new series of articles on post-award bid protests! A lot of misunderstandings and misinformation surround the bid protest, and traps abound for the wary and unwary alike. To dispel some of this confusion and explore some of the
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June 12, 2017 - Protests & Litigation, Compliance
O Ye of Little Faith: Breaching the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing While Complying with the Express Terms of a Government Contract
By: James A. Tucker
In contracts – and especially in government contracts, where one is expected to “turn square corners” – we often analyze breach of contract in light of the jots and tittles of a contract’s express terms. And, in bringing a Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claim
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April 10, 2017 - Protests & Litigation, Resources
Anatomy of a Protest at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims
The next in our Infographics series shows the anatomy of a Protest at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Although protests at the Court are not subject to the same timeline as at the GAO, this infographic provides a step-by-step timeline of a typical COFC
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March 27, 2017 - Compliance, Resources
Allowability of Legal Costs
The next in our Infographics series walks through the allowability of costs for certain in-house legal services. It provides a quick guide to when a contractor’s legal costs may, and may not, be charged to the government.
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