Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – January 8, 2026
The Weekly Update recaps recent legislative and regulatory updates affecting government contractors and commercial businesses. If you have questions concerning this content, please email marketing@pilieromazza.com . _____________________________________________ Happy New Year from PilieroMazza! PilieroMazza Promotes Eric Valle to Partner, Helping Government Contractors Navigate Compliance and Stay Competitive, PilieroMazza News PilieroMazza is proud to announce that Eric Valle was promoted to Partner in the Firm’s Government Contracts Group effective January 1, 2026. Eric’s promotion reflects his deep experience in government contracting law and his commitment to helping clients reduce . . . Read More
Top 10 Killer Construction Contract Clauses, Part 3: Are the Indemnification Provisions in Your Construction Contract Enforceable?
Construction projects involve high risk. Multiple contractors and subcontractors working on a project site—often with heavy equipment and hazardous conditions—creates the potential for significant injuries, property damages, and delays. To allocate that risk, indemnification provisions are standard in construction contracts. Whether you are a project owner, general contractor, subcontractor, or supplier, chances are your contracts have indemnification provisions that require you, or the party with which you are contracting, to provide indemnification for and a duty to defend against claims . . . Read More
Warfighting at Warp Speed, Part 3: Tracking the 2026 NDAA and DOW’s Acquisition Overhaul
In December 2025, PilieroMazza explained some key highlights of the 3,000-page 2026 NDAA for defense contractors, tracking how these important updates will affect their ability to compete and how they align with DOW’s Acquisition Overhaul . In this blog, we dive deeper into one of these NDAA updates—Section 1826—which all small businesses, defense contractors, and prospective defense contractors need to understand, as it could significantly ease compliance burdens across the existing defense industrial base and invite new competitors into the space. For more insights on . . . Read More
PilieroMazza Promotes Eric Valle to Partner, Helping Government Contractors Navigate Compliance and Stay Competitive
PilieroMazza is proud to announce that Eric Valle was promoted to Partner in the Firm’s Government Contracts Group effective January 1, 2026. Eric’s promotion reflects his deep experience in government contracting law and his commitment to helping clients reduce regulatory risk, win contracts, and grow their businesses. Managing Partner Tony Franco said: “Eric’s promotion recognizes his exceptional ability to translate complex government contracting law into practical strategies that help clients achieve their business objectives. Jackie Unger , Chair of the Government Contracts Group, added: “Eric’s legal skill and hands-on experience . . . Read More
PilieroMazza Annual Review: 2025 CBCA and ASBCA Annual Reports Highlight Critical Contract Dispute Trends for Government Contractors
The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) recently published their annual reports (the Reports), providing updates on personnel, decision statistics, and other relevant developments over Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025). As the primary forums for federal contract appeals, the CBCA and ASBCA serve as critical resources for federal contractors. In this blog, attorneys in PilieroMazza ’s REAs, Claims, and Appeals Group offer key insights from the Reports that could affect how government contractors submit or respond to CBCA . . . Read More
Fiscal Year 2026 NDAA Signed into Law: 6 Key Takeaways for Defense Contractors
On Thursday, December 18, 2025, President Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (2026 NDAA), which authorizes over $900 billion in funding for the Department of Defense (DOD) and other national security programs. The 2026 NDAA contains many acquisition reform provisions and other critical provisions impacting defense contractors. This client alert provides six key takeaways from these provisions. Efforts to Increase Competition by Small Businesses and Nontraditional Defense Contractors Several provisions of the 2026 . . . Read More
How a Fair Protest Process Enhances Federal Procurement Integrity
This year, the federal government has seen an unprecedented level of scrutiny aimed at cutting waste and inefficiencies. While trimming waste and striving for greater efficiency are admirable pursuits, it is important not to take an overly broad approach and overlook the intent behind federal processes that may seem burdensome. Federal procurement is designed to serve the public interest, not private advantage. The bid protest process, set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 33.1, plays a vital role in . . . Read More
SBA Data Call: Deadline Extended Until January 19, 2026
SBA announced today, as part of a broader release of FAQs, that the deadline to respond to the December 5, 2025, data call, which we discussed here , has been extended until January 19, 2026. Over and beyond the welcomed extension, SBA has clarified certain of the data call requests. Of note, SBA confirmed that the “last three (3) closed fiscal years of each respective participant” is required. Takeaways from this are: (1) it is the participant’s, not the government’s, fiscal year, . . . Read More
Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – December 18, 2025
The Weekly Update recaps recent legislative and regulatory updates affecting government contractors and commercial businesses. If you have questions concerning this content, please email marketing@pilieromazza.com . _____________________________________________ Season’s Greetings from PilieroMazza! GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS / FALSE CLAIMS ACT / AUDITS & INVESTIGATIONS Inside the SBA’s Full-Scale 8(a) Audit: What Participants Need to Know Now, PilieroMazza Webinar Replay, Matthew E. Feinberg , Meghan F. Leemon The SBA has issued formal data and document requests to all certified 8(a) participants, marking the first major step in the “immediate and full-scale audit” announced in June 2025. Prompted largely by recent media allegations . . . Read More
When to File an OCI Protest: GAO Decision Suggests Early Filing Is Best
An organizational conflict of interest (OCI) is a significant issue for both contractors and the government. When a contract opportunity presents a potential or actual OCI—whether due to unequal access to information, biased ground rules, or impaired objectivity—and the conflict is not sufficiently mitigated or neutralized, a procuring agency may find the contractor ineligible for award. Thus, if a contractor believes a competitor has an unmitigated OCI, filing a protest alleging the OCI’s existence and challenging the competitor’s eligibility for . . . Read More