Government Contracts Insights

November 11, 2019 - Federal Procurement, Compliance
DOJ Takes Aim at Collusion in Government Procurement with New Strike Force
By: Megan E. Gerking
On November 5, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of a new Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) focused on deterring, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting antitrust crimes, especially bid-rigging, in government procurement at the federal, state, and local levels. This follows several
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October 22, 2019 - Compliance
MoForward 2020 Sneak Peek: A Practical and Economical Approach to Internal Investigations
By: Sandeep N. Nandivada
Mark your calendars for MoFo’s third annual MoForward program, which will be held once again at the Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner, in two weeks , on November 5. For more details and to register, click here. Facing an internal investigation is virtually a given
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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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November 07, 2018 - Acquisition Regulations, Protests & Litigation, Compliance
Of Human Bondage and Christian Doctrine
By: James A. Tucker
To be clear, the bondage here is the bond requirement under Federal construction contracts, and the doctrine does not appear in the catechism but in the Court of Claims’ old decision in G. L. Christian & Associates v. United States , 312 F.2d 418
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October 03, 2018 - Acquisition Regulations, Protests & Litigation, Compliance
GAO Sharpening its Blade [Strategies] on OTA Review
By: Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recent decision in Blade Strategies, LLC , B-416752, 2018 WL 4584111 (Comp. Gen. Sept. 24, 2018) , clarifies the GAO’s jurisdiction and standard of review for protests of other transaction agreements (OTAs), and also serves as a good reminder
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