Topic Archives: Protests & Litigation

April 8, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

March 2022 Bid Protest Roundup: Delayed Debriefings, Conflicts of Interest, and Insufficient Documentation

By: Lyle F. Hedgecock

This month’s Bid Protest Roundup covers two recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions and a decision from the Court of Federal Claims. All involve defense procurements, but each offers a unique lesson for offerors and government procurement professionals. This Roundup features a protester that …›

April 7, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

OFCCP Signals Return to More Aggressive and Less Transparent Audits

By: Andrew R. Turnbull

In the last three weeks alone, OFCCP has issued two significant Directives and a notice of proposed rulemaking, signaling its intent to be far more aggressive and less transparent in compliance evaluations than under the Trump Administration. Read the full client alert. …›

March 31, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

FAR Council Tightens Buy American Act Requirements

By: Markus Gerhard Speidel

Earlier this month, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) issued a final rule tightening the Buy American Act preference for domestic products and construction materials. The final rule makes only limited changes to the proposed rule we previously commented on. First, the effective …›

March 7, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

February 2022 Bid Protest Roundup: Key Personnel Changes, Agency Computer Glitches, and Ambiguous Solicitations

By: James A. Tucker

This month’s roundup considers three recent protests: (1) an important decision by the Court of Federal Claims rejecting controversial precedents of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concerning key personnel unavailability; (2) a cautionary tale from the GAO, where an agency computer system prevented …›

March 1, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

Private Sector Directed to Be on Alert for Potential Russian Cyber Attacks

By: Alex Iftimie and Tina D. Reynolds

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine becomes a protracted campaign, and as the United States and other countries impose sanctions and other penalties on Russia in response, the possibility of Russian cyberattacks directed at the West (or that spill from Ukraine) looms large. In …›

February 22, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

January 2022 Bid Protest Roundup

By: Locke Bell

This month’s bid protest roundup begins with two decisions, one from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and another from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), highlighting potential pitfalls that await offerors that undergo a merger, acquisition, or other corporate transaction …›

February 9, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

Unavailable Key Personnel: Differing Legal Standards at the Gao and Court of Federal Claims

By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker

An interesting new bid protest decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims articulates a rule for pre-award key personnel unavailability that is very different from the one employed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). In Golden IT, LLC v. United States, Judge …›

January 21, 2022 - Coronavirus, Protests & Litigation

Updates to Task Force Guidance | District Courts Follow Different Reasoning to Hold Executive Order 14042 Invalid: Circuit Courts to Determine Which Arguments Succeed or Fail

By: J. Alex Ward and Krista A. Nunez

The fast and furious Jenga game over when and with which federal vaccine mandate a company must comply might finally have reached a turning point. On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court issued dual per curiam opinions in which it blocked the Occupational Safety …›

January 11, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

Top Cybersecurity Considerations for Government Contractors in 2022

By: Tina D. Reynolds and Alex Iftimie

The cybersecurity posture of government contractors was an area of intense focus and ongoing regulatory development for the federal government in 2021. The coming year will also include many anticipated cybersecurity-related changes and developments. To learn more, read our client alert. …›

January 10, 2022 - Protests & Litigation

December 2021 Bid Protest Roundup

By: Roke Iko

This month’s Law360 Bid Protest Roundup focuses on two Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions and one recent Federal Circuit decision. These decisions involve (1) the risks of using former government employees in the proposal process, (2) the requirements for an agency’s brand-name justification, and …›