How the New Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 Impacts Government Contractors
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
Citing Kingdomware, Federal Circuit Confirms Award of GSA Schedule Task Order Falls Within Tucker Act Bid Protest Jurisdiction
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
7 Key Risks for Contractors in Transit Procurements
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
Negotiating the Start Date Provision of Your Office Lease
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
Revitalizing the HUBZone Program
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
Category Management 101: What Every Contractor Needs to Know
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
Can a MAC Awardee Protest Another Contractor on the Same IDIQ?
By Alex Levine While traditionally a bid protest involves a losing offeror challenging the award of a contract to another offeror, occasionally winning offerors on a multiple award contract (MAC) have sought to challenge the government’s issuance of another award to an offeror on the same MAC. These types of protests have historically been rejected by both the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which have held that the winning offeror does not have . . . Read More
Contracting Globally – Part 2: International Traffic in Arms Regulations
By Kimi Murakami There are two major regimes that govern exports from the United States. One is the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and, second, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) enforced by the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”). A recent blog article discussed EAR compliance and this blog will address the requirements of ITAR. Similar to issues relating to EAR discussed in . . . Read More
GAO Clarifies Rules Regarding the Use of Key Personnel Past Performance
In March 2015, GAO issued a decision in Recogniti, LLP, B-410658 (January 21, 2015), whereby it upheld the agency’s reliance upon individual past performance references for the owner of a small and relatively new company. GAO noted that the FAR allows agencies to credit a company for the past performance of an owner if that owner is proposed as a key employee for the work to be performed. As a follow-up to a blog article we wrote on this topic last year, we felt it necessary to point out another . . . Read More
VA Required to put Veterans First in Kingdomware Supreme Court Decision
In a big win for veteran-owned small businesses, the Supreme Court today ruled unanimously in favor of Kingdomware Technologies, Inc., in its case against the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”). Kingdomware had brought suit challenging the VA’s failure to set aside an order under the Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS”) for veteran-owned small businesses. In the ensuing litigation, the VA took the position that it was not required to reserve FSS orders for SDVOSBs or VOSBs because the mandates of the . . . Read More