Government Contracts Insights

September 27, 2019 - Federal Procurement, Protests & Litigation, Defense, Compliance
DOD Promulgates Long-awaited Restrictions on LPTA Procurement
By: James A. Tucker
The Department of Defense (DOD) has promulgated the final rule restricting DOD’s use of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) acquisition methods. The final rule adopts, without any substantive changes, the proposed rule published last December and implements sections of the National Defense Authorization Acts
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March 27, 2019 - Labor & Employment, Compliance
OFCCP Announces FY2019 Audits
By: Andrew R. Turnbull
On March 25, 2019, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published the list of contractors that are scheduled to receive Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters (CSALs). CSALs are courtesy letters OFCCP sends to contractors to alert them that one or more of their
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March 01, 2019 - Federal Procurement, Defense, Compliance
Undefinitized Contract Action Proposed Rule
By: James A. Tucker
In the National Defense Authorization Acts for 2017 and 2018, Congress required the Department of Defense (DOD) to implement certain reforms for issuing and definitizing Undefinitized Contract Actions (UCAs). After a long delay, DOD has issued a proposed rule and requested comments from industry.
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February 15, 2019 - Protests & Litigation, Defense, Compliance
Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Risks of War
By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
In last month’s post , we considered First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting W.L.L., v. Dep’t of State , CBCA 3506, 2018 WL 6423911 (Dec. 3, 2018), and Appeal of ECC International, LLC , ASBCA 60484, 2018 WL 6251069 (Nov. 16, 2018), to reflect on
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February 05, 2019 - Protests & Litigation, Compliance, Mergers & Acquisitions
In Wyle, the GAO Gives Another Reminder of Risks Associated with Pending Procurements During a Transaction
Although there are often significant rewards associated with transactions among government contractors, the transactions require careful planning and coordination. Even then, there is a fair amount of risk during the process: the novation process (when required) is discretionary; the seller may have undisclosed violations
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January 25, 2019 - Protests & Litigation, Defense, Compliance
Who Bears the Risks of War?
By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
On the eve of the Vicksburg campaign in October 1862, Abraham Lincoln instructed Ulysses S. Grant, “Follow law, and forms of law, as far as convenient.” In a war zone, Lincoln seemed to recognize, there may be some uncertainty in the application of the
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May 30, 2018 - Acquisition Regulations, Compliance, Data Rights, Intellectual Property
Sikorsky: What the GAO Said and Did Not Say About Soliciting Data Rights
By: W. Jay DeVecchio and Locke Bell
The GAO’s decision last week, denying in part and dismissing in part Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation’s much-watched protest of the Air Force’s solicitation to replace the UH-1N helicopter, deals an early (if light) blow to contractors in their fight against the Air Force’s recent data
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September 06, 2017 - Protests & Litigation, Compliance
Winning the Corrective Action, and Using Clarifications Instead of Discussions
By: J. Alex Ward and James A. Tucker
In a recent Protest Roundup , we discussed Dell Federal Systems, LP v. United States , 2017 WL 2981811 (Fed. Cl. July 3, 2017), a case in which a contractor successfully challenged the scope of the voluntary corrective action an agency took in response
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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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