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.

Read about our Authors.

Never miss a post. Subscribe to get real-time updates.

August 01, 2023 - Small Business
SBA Finalizes Rule to Modernize the SBIC Program
By: Damien C. Specht, Alissandra Young McCann and Markus Gerhard Speidel
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) finalized a rule to modernize the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program on July 17, 2023. Part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the new SBIC Investment Diversification and Growth (IDG) rule seeks to “unlock unrealized potential and
... ›
July 24, 2023 - Federal Procurement
DoD Issues Updated Other Transactions (OT) Guide
By: Locke Bell
The Department of Defense updated its guidance on “other transaction” agreements, or “OTs,”[1] an increasingly popular contracting authority not subject to the FAR or most procurement laws that accounted for more than $37 billion in defense spending from 2019 through 2021.[2] Although the new
... ›
July 17, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
June 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Errors, Experience, Corrective Action
By: Krista A. Nunez
This month’s bid protest roundup focuses on two decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“Court”) and one decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). These decisions involve (1) the Court’s determination that, based on the facts, inconsistencies in an offeror’s proposed labor
... ›
July 14, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
Hard Validations and Cutlines: What Happened on CIO-SP4?
By: James A. Tucker and Damien C. Specht
If you’ve been following the saga of the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center’s (NITAAC) Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners (CIO-SP4) procurement, you likely know the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued two decisions sustaining post-award protests by 91 unsuccessful
... ›
July 07, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report: Key Considerations for Litigating Classified Bid Protests
By: Kevin P. Mullen, Sandeep N. Nandivada, James A. Tucker and Caitlin A. Crujido
Kevin Mullen, Sandeep Nandivada, James Tucker, and Caitlin Crujido authored an article for Pratt's Government Contracting Law Report sharing 10 factors to consider when contemplating a classified protest. "Find a law firm with a sufficient number of experienced bid protest lawyers with the requisite
... ›
July 05, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
Clarifying Minor Errors: The Court Makes an Agency Seek a Clarification
By: James A. Tucker
Offerors whose proposals are disqualified for immaterial typographical and data input errors will want to read an interesting new protest decision from the Court of Federal Claims. In Aspire Therapy Services & Consultants, Inc. v. United States , the Court sustained a protest because the
... ›
June 22, 2023 - Compliance, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
When Does the So-Called TikTok Ban Really Apply to Contractors and Their Employees?
By: Tina D. Reynolds, James A. Tucker and Locke Bell
In the extensive chatter since the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) published an interim rule on the new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.204-27, “Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application,” commentators have almost universally advised that if a federal contractor’s employee uses a device
... ›
June 14, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
May 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Timeliness, Discovery, Registration Gap
This past month, bid protest decisions from both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) provided important reminders of procedural rules that protesters and intervenors alike must keep in mind if they wish to succeed at either forum. Accordingly, we
... ›
June 06, 2023 - False Claims Act
United States Supreme Court: Look to Defendant’s Subjective Beliefs to Decide Whether It “Knowingly” Submitted False Claim
By: Adam L. Braverman, J. Alex Ward and Joseph R. Palmore
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., clarifying when a defendant “knowingly” submits a false claim for payment under the False Claims Act (FCA). The Court held that a defendant that submits
... ›
May 15, 2023 - Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
NIST Releases Revised Cybersecurity Controls and Requirements for Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information Resident in Contractor Information Technology Systems
By: Tina D. Reynolds and Sandeep N. Nandivada
On May 10, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) released an Initial Public Draft of Revision 3 to NIST Special Publication (“SP”) 800-171, Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations. Although still in draft form, the document provides important
... ›