Government Contracts Insights

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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October 01, 2018 - Compliance
If You’re Not Early, You’re Late: Meeting Deadlines in Federal Procurements
By: James A. Tucker
Businesses hoping to win a government contract must be familiar and comply with a host of complex timeliness rules, from the deadlines for submitting proposals and revisions, to the rules for protesting a potentially improper award to a competitor. One small slip-up may be
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September 24, 2018 - Protests & Litigation, Defense, Compliance
Increased Security Risks May Be a Cardinal Change
By: J. Alex Ward, Charles L. Capito and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once explained that there are the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. Some greeted that gnomic pronouncement with bemused smiles. But contractors operating in a contingency environment know exactly what he was talking about. No mere mortal can accurately predict,
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August 09, 2018 - Federal Procurement, Protests & Litigation, Compliance
“Workin’ Nine to Five” – But Not in a Government Office: Requesting a Debriefing
By: James A. Tucker
In Exceptional Software Strategies, Inc ., B-416232 , the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently addressed the obscure rules for when a disappointed offeror must request a debriefing. It’s generally well known that, in procurements where offerors may have a right to debriefings, a disappointed
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June 22, 2018 - Acquisition Regulations, Federal Procurement, Compliance
Soothsaying Oracle: What GAO’s Decision Concerning DoD Prototype OTAs Means for DoD and Beyond
By: Damien C. Specht, Tina D. Reynolds, Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs): The term is familiar among government contractors, yet commonly misunderstood. Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in Oracle America, Inc. , B-416061, May 31, 2018, 2018 CPD ¶ ___ , defined OTAs as “legally-binding instruments, other than contracts, grants, or
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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: 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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Topic Archives: Compliance

Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Risks of War

By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

In Wyle, the GAO Gives Another Reminder of Risks Associated with Pending Procurements During a Transaction

Who Bears the Risks of War?

By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

Of Human Bondage and Christian Doctrine

By: James A. Tucker

GAO Sharpening its Blade [Strategies] on OTA Review

By: Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

If You’re Not Early, You’re Late: Meeting Deadlines in Federal Procurements

By: James A. Tucker

Increased Security Risks May Be a Cardinal Change

By: J. Alex Ward, Charles L. Capito and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

“Workin’ Nine to Five” – But Not in a Government Office: Requesting a Debriefing

By: James A. Tucker

Soothsaying Oracle: What GAO’s Decision Concerning DoD Prototype OTAs Means for DoD and Beyond

By: Damien C. Specht, Tina D. Reynolds, Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

Sikorsky: What the GAO Said and Did Not Say About Soliciting Data Rights

By: Locke Bell