Government Contracts Insights

Insights and analysis from practitioners.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Rule Of Two, Post Award, Cost Request

  This article is part of a monthly column that provides takeaways from recent bid protest cases. This installment highlights three decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Sep 9, 2024

• Size Recertifications Following Mergers and Acquisitions: Coming Changes to the Small Business Regulations

  Size Recertifications Following Mergers and Acquisitions: Coming Changes to the Small Business Regulations View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Aug 29, 2024

• DoD Aligns with FAR on Sustainable Procurement

  The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule bringing the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) into alignment with changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that reorganized Part 23 on Sustainable Procurement. View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Aug 29, 2024

• Summertime Sadness for Mentor Protégé Joint Ventures

  Summertime Sadness for Mentor Protégé Joint Ventures View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Aug 14, 2024

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Misplaced Information, Conclusory Tradeoffs, and Inexperienced Protégés

  Bid Protest Spotlight: Misplaced Information, Conclusory Tradeoffs, and Inexperienced Protégés View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Aug 12, 2024

• FedRAMP to the Future

  FedRAMP to the Future View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Aug 12, 2024

• June 2024 Bid Protest Roundup

  This month’s Bid Protest Roundup highlights three recent protests from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jul 25, 2024

• Court of Federal Claims Potentially Expands Its Other Transaction (OT) Bid Protest Jurisdiction

  A recent decision, Independent Rough Terrain Center, LLC v. United States (“IRTC”),\[1\] confirms the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over bid protests related to follow-on production contracts arising out of other transaction (“OTs”) for Department of Defense proto

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jul 18, 2024

• Procurement Integrity Act

  The Procurement Integrity Act (“PIA”), codified at 41 U.S.C. § 2101–2107, is intended to prevent unethical and improper competitive practices from influencing federal procurements. View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jul 15, 2024

• The End of Chevron Deference: What It Means for False Claims Act Litigation

  Under the Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), for decades courts have sometimes been required “to defer to ‘permissible’ agency interpretations of \[ambiguities in\] statutes those agencies administer—even

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jul 10, 2024

• The End of Chevron Deference: What It Means for Government Contractors

  On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States overruled a cornerstone of contemporary administrative law when it determined­­­­, in a 6-3 ruling, that the Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), w

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jul 3, 2024

• OHA Rules Company Remains Eligible for Award of Small Business Set-Aside Schedule Orders Even After Acquisition by a Large Business

  The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) has yet again clarified that a company’s size change in connection with a merger-and-acquisition event generally does not prevent the company from continuing to bid on set-aside orders under its General

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jun 27, 2024

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Mapping, Jurisdiction, Incumbency

  The first decision, Kearney & Co. v. U.S., explores the ability of contractors to use labor mapping to bridge differences between an agency's stated needs and a contractor's offerings under its U.S. General Services Administration federal supply schedule contracts. View the full

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jun 25, 2024

• Has the GAO Opened the Door to Certain Other Transaction (OT) Bid Protests?

  Bid protests of other transaction agreements, also known as “OTs” or “OTAs,” are a common topic for this blog. View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jun 6, 2024

• Key Takeaways from the Federal Government’s Proposed Rule Banning Certain Chinese-Origin Semiconductor Technology

  Earlier this month, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to implement parts of Section 5949 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 designed to impose new restrictions on the

  Morrison Foerster LLP · May 16, 2024

• A Sigh of Relief: DoD Issues Class Deviation for DFARS 252.204-7012

  On May 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued an important class deviation that provides necessary relief for contractors endeavoring to comply with ever-changing cybersecurity requirements. View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · May 6, 2024

• Airing of Grievances: FAR Council Invites Novation Comments

  Is it finally time to fix the outdated, incomplete, and often misunderstood novation regulations? View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Apr 24, 2024

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Unwitting Disclosure, Agency Deference

  This month’s Bid Protest Roundup highlights two Procurement Integrity Act (PIA) decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and one solicitation interpretation decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Apr 22, 2024

• DFARS Realigns with FAR Buy American Requirements

  For the second time in as many years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has issued a final rule that brings its Buy American Act (BAA) requirements into alignment with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Apr 9, 2024

• March 2024 Bid Protest Roundup: “Each Procurement Stands on Its Own”; Responsibility Determinations; Trade Agreement Act Compliance

  In our bid protest roundup for March, we consider three recent decisions of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The first explains why similar proposals for similar requirements under similar evaluation criteria may legitimately receive very different ratings from one pro

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Apr 1, 2024

• DOD’s Proposed Data Rights Regulations For MOSA Undercut Its Pursuit Of Commercial Innovation

  On November 17, 2023, the Department of Defense published its long-awaited proposed revisions to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement data rights regulations to implement a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). 88 Fed. Reg. 80258. View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Mar 28, 2024

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Conflict, Latent Ambiguity, Cost Realism

  This month’s Bid Protest Roundup highlights a trio of U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions. The first decision, Deloitte Consulting, highlights the risk of severing a teaming partner after quote submission. The second, Kauffman and Associates, Inc., illustrates h

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Mar 7, 2024

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing, Brand-Name or Equal, Insufficient Documentation

  This month’s bid protest roundup highlights one decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and two decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Feb 13, 2024

• OMB Says Agencies “Should” Perform a Rule of Two Analysis and Set Aside Requirements for Task Orders Under Multiple-Award Contracts

  The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a policy memorandum with a goal of promoting small business participation under multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts (MACs). View the full article

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Feb 8, 2024

• Proposed Rule Seeks to Mandate Pay Transparency and Ban Using Salary History for Federal Contractors

  On January 29, 2024, the Biden administration issued a Proposed Rule that would prohibit federal contractors from seeking and considering compensation history when making employment decisions and require contractors to disclose compensation being offered in job postings. View the

  Morrison Foerster LLP · Jan 31, 2024