By Kimi Murakami The overwhelming bipartisan passage by both the House and Senate of the new Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) which was signed into law (18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-1839) by the president on May 11, 2016, marks not only an unusual display of political unity in Washington, but also presents an ideal moment for federal government contractors to assess and update their policies and procedures relating to trade secrets. To make sure you are ready for the . . . Read More
By Megan Connor Contractors seeking to challenge the award of task orders, which the procuring agency referred to as “options” or “extensions,” received a big win from the Federal Circuit in Coast Professional, Inc. et al. v. United States , No. 2015-5077 (Fed. Cir. July 12, 2016). The Federal Circuit concluded that the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) erred in its decision that the “award-term task orders” at issue were not new task orders for purposes of bid protest jurisdiction, and vacated and remanded the COFC’s decision. In Coast . . . Read More
Pam Mazza and featured speaker, John Klein, U.S. Small Business Administration Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law. Handout: Chart comparing the prior and current rules
By Michael A. de Gennaro Your company has reviewed an RFP issued by a municipal authority to select a firm to operate and maintain transit services, and the business team has signed off on the economics of submitting a bid. As your company’s counsel, you have been tasked with identifying the legal risks of the procurement, with the aim of identifying the “most important” considerations. In many instances, legal review will be approached as more or less a formality, with . . . Read More
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Small Business Subcontracting Improvements FPI Blanket Waiver Threshold This week’s report follows, click here if you would like to download a copy . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING Small Business Subcontracting Improvements DOD, GSA, and NASA issued a final rule amending the FAR to implement the following regulatory changes made by the Small Business Administration, which provide for a governmentwide policy on small business subcontracting: (1) Requiring prime contractors to make good faith efforts to utilize their proposed small business subcontractors during performance of a contract to the same degree the prime contractor . . . Read More
In negotiating an office lease, business owners should pay particularly close attention to the terms and conditions regarding the start date of their office lease. Many landlords will begin negotiations regarding the start date of an office lease by providing an “estimated” date on which the tenant will be able to move in to the office space, stating that if the actual date on which the space becomes available is different than the estimated date, there will be no penalty . . . Read More
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Affiliation for Business Loan Programs and Surety Bond Guarantee Program GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Acquisition Threshold for Special Emergency Procurement Authority Amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Pilot Program on Acquisition of Military Purpose Non-developmental Items Defense Contractors Performing Private Security Functions Treatment of Interagency and State and Local Purchases Contract Financing Administrative Cost to Issue and Administer a Contract BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustments SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Affiliation for Business Loan Programs and Surety Bond Guarantee Program This final rule amends the . . . Read More
In a recent article , published by Bloomberg BNA in their Federal Contracts Report, Jon Williams and Katie Flood talk about Revitalizing the HUBZone Program and calls on Congress and SBA to take the steps outlined in the article to revitalize the HUBZone program so it can realize its full potential. The HUBZone Program was created in 1997 to spur economic development in historically underutilized regions of the country. The aim is as worthwhile now as it was then, and there remains . . . Read More
By Michelle Litteken You may have heard the term “category management” over the last two years. It has been discussed within agencies, in Congress, in the press, and at industry events. But do you know what it means? Because category management may have a significant impact on the way the government buys goods and services, it is a concept every contractor should know about. Category management is a strategic approach to procurement. Specifically, the purchaser focuses on specific areas of . . . Read More
