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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December 06, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
November 2023 Bid Protest Roundup
By: James A. Tucker
This month's protest spotlight highlights three decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The decisions feature arguments that unsuccessful offerors often want to make, but that are rarely successful, as well as two arguments that some will be surprised did not succeed. Matter of:
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November 16, 2023 - Small Business
Venture Capital Investment in a Small Business? Know the SBA rules first.
By: Damien C. Specht, Tyler J. Sewell and Alissandra Young McCann
In recent months, there have been a number of articles about an increase in venture capital interest in entities that do business with the federal government. In fact, this interest is not new. Small entities with venture backing have used programs like the Small Business Innovation
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November 14, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
October 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Instructions, Jurisdiction, Scrutiny
This month, we feature three bid protest decisions—two from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) and one from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”). Though each of these decisions focuses on a different fundamental point of procurement law, all share a common theme: they
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November 03, 2023 - Artificial Intelligence + Robotics
National Security and Government Contractor Implications of Biden AI Executive Order
By: Tina D. Reynolds, Charles L. Capito and Brandon L. Van Grack
The Biden administration issued a widely anticipated executive order on artificial intelligence (“AI”) earlier this week. The Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (the “EO”) addresses a multitude of issues reflecting an emerging national policy on AI. This article
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October 31, 2023 - Mergers & Acquisitions
Merge, Acquire . . . Voluntarily Self-Disclose?
By: Nathaniel R. Mendell, Carrie H. Cohen, Edward A. Imperatore, James M. Koukios, Stacey M. Sprenkel and Sheryl Janet George
Earlier this month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced an important extension of DOJ’s voluntary self-disclosure policy aimed specifically at incentivizing companies engaged in mergers and acquisitions “to timely disclose misconduct uncovered during the M&A process.” Monaco said that the Department’s goal in rolling
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October 20, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
September 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Limits to Agency Discretion in Challenge to NAICS Code Assignments, Confines of the Close-at-Hand Principle
By: Roke Iko
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup focuses on a recent U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision involving the limitations of the government’s deference defense and a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that involved the proper application and discretionary nature of the so-called close-at-hand principle. Consolidated
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October 19, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
Timeliness Traps: Adverse Action Before Receipt of a Written Agency-Level Protest Decision
By: James A. Tucker
In the right circumstances, an agency-level protest can be a quick and efficient way to address certain procurement errors, as we discussed a few years ago. One downside of agency‑level protests, however, is their potential for creating doubt or confusion about the deadline for
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October 13, 2023 - Small Business
SBA Updates Its Regulations on Lower-Tier Small Business Subcontracting Credit
By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a final rule amending its regulation on lower-tier small business subcontracting credit to account for statutory changes introduced in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. Most Federal contracts performed in the United States require
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October 11, 2023 - Small Business
Definitive Guidance on Facility Security Clearances for Small Business Joint Ventures
By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Charles L. Capito
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Information Security Oversight Office (ISSO) have issued a Joint Notice to clarify how Facility Security Clearances (FCLs) (also called Entity Eligibility Determinations, or EEDs) work for joint ventures. As we have discussed before, the SBA regulations for a
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October 06, 2023 - Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, Federal Procurement
The FAR Council’s Proposed Cybersecurity Overhaul: Lots of Questions, but Only Some Answers
By: Tina D. Reynolds and Sandeep N. Nandivada
In what can best be described as a tsunami of cybersecurity regulation, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council—consisting of the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—issued two proposed rules on October 2, 2023. If implemented, the
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Welcome to the Government Contracts Insights Blog

November 2023 Bid Protest Roundup

By: James A. Tucker

Venture Capital Investment in a Small Business? Know the SBA rules first.

By: Damien C. Specht, Tyler J. Sewell and Alissandra Young McCann

October 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Instructions, Jurisdiction, Scrutiny

National Security and Government Contractor Implications of Biden AI Executive Order

By: Tina D. Reynolds, Charles L. Capito and Brandon L. Van Grack

Merge, Acquire . . . Voluntarily Self-Disclose?

By: Nathaniel R. Mendell, Carrie H. Cohen, Edward A. Imperatore, James M. Koukios, Stacey M. Sprenkel and Sheryl Janet George

September 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Limits to Agency Discretion in Challenge to NAICS Code Assignments, Confines of the Close-at-Hand Principle

By: Roke Iko

Timeliness Traps: Adverse Action Before Receipt of a Written Agency-Level Protest Decision

By: James A. Tucker

SBA Updates Its Regulations on Lower-Tier Small Business Subcontracting Credit

By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann

Definitive Guidance on Facility Security Clearances for Small Business Joint Ventures

By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Charles L. Capito

The FAR Council’s Proposed Cybersecurity Overhaul: Lots of Questions, but Only Some Answers

By: Tina D. Reynolds and Sandeep N. Nandivada