Government Contracts Legal Forum
Legal analysis of government contracting.
New FAR Part 40 to Address Supply Chain and Information Security Requirements
On April 1, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule updating the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to add Part 40 on information security and supply chain sec
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 17, 2024
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AI Governance, Bid Protests, Software Attestation This week’s episode covers an OMB memo directing agencies to advance AI governance and innovation, a bid protest involving compliance with the Trade Agreements Act, and an updated Secure Software Development Attestation Form that
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 17, 2024
U.S. Chamber Submits Comments on the FAR Council’s Proposed Rule Regarding Pay Transparency
On January 30, 2024, the FAR Council issued a proposed rule entitled “Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting” (“Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule would: (1) prohibit contractors and subcontractors from seeking and considering information about job applicants’ compens
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 17, 2024
All Things Protest
Did the Federal Circuit Open Another Jurisdictional Door for Protests? Crowell & Moring’s “All Things Protest” podcast keeps you up to date on major trends in bid protest litigation, key developments in high-profile cases, and best practices in state and federal procurement. In t
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 17, 2024
Recent Developments from the Federal Government Relating to AI
AI remains a critical focus of both the federal government and industry, with multiple efforts in recent weeks to address governance of the development and use of AI in the United States. On February 26, 2024, a U.S. Department of State-commissioned report, titled “Defense in Dep
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 11, 2024
OMB Releases Final Guidance Memo on the Government’s Use of AI
On March 28, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released Memorandum M-24-10, Advancing Governance, Innovation, and Risk Management for Agency Use of Artificial Intelligence (Memo), updating and implementing OMB’s November 2023 proposed memorandum of the same name. Th
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 11, 2024
It All Adds Up
What’s the Point? To set the groundwork for future episodes, Nicole Owren-Wiest and Erin Rankin talk fundamentals: What is the purpose behind the often counter-intuitive and complex government contracts cost and pricing rules? What are the various price analysis techniques availa
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 3, 2024
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End User License Agreements, Whistleblower Incentives, GHG Disclosures This week’s episode covers a Federal Circuit decision holding that an end user license agreement incorporated into another contractor’s agreement was sufficient to establish jurisdiction under the Contract Dis
Crowell and Moring LLP · Apr 1, 2024
Software Developments: CISA Finalizes Attestation Form, Triggering Secure Software Development Implementation
On March 11, 2024, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published an updated Secure Software Development Attestation Form, meaning that producers of software and providers of products containing software used by
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 21, 2024
Nuziard v. Minority Business Development Agency: Another Blow To Federally Sponsored Affirmative Action Efforts
On March 5, 2024, a federal judge in Texas struck down a federally-sponsored racial preference extended to minority groups seeking to access capital and government contracts. Nuziard v. Minority Business Development Agency (“Nuziard”). Plaintiffs, who are non-minority business ow
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 21, 2024
Crowell Talks Tax: The Inflation Reduction Act’s Domestic Content Bonus Credits (VIDEO)
Government Contracts and International Trade partner Addie Cliffe and Government Contracts counsel Liam O’Reilly discuss the Inflation Reduction Act’s Domestic Content Bonus Credits.Click to read more | Watch now on our YouTube channel The post Crowell Talks Tax: The Inflation Re
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 15, 2024
The Top FCA Developments of 2023
2023 brought many important False Claims Act developments for companies with business involving government funds. While overall recoveries remained down compared to pre-2022 levels, the total number of settlements and judgments exceeded any prior year. Those settlements and judgm
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 12, 2024
February 2024 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month
In February 2024, GAO continued its streak of taking a hard look at procurements conducted under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 8.4. Subpart 8.4 allows the government to use “simplified” ordering procedures to obtain commercial supplies and services. However, some a
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 12, 2024
DOJ Offers Cash “Carrot” to Whistleblowers; Foreshadows “Stick” of More Corporate Enforcement
On March 7, 2024, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco delivered remarks at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime announcing a new Department of Justice (DOJ) pilot program that incentivizes whistleblowers to report corporate misconduct
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 12, 2024
New Federal and State PFAS Requirements Pose Unique Challenges to the Government Contracting Community
A wave of recent changes in federal and state law pertaining to PFAS chemicals is likely to present both immediate and long-term challenges to the government contracting community. At the federal level, contractors that import products, parts, packaging, equipment or other articl
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 12, 2024
Just Trust Me on This: Allegation of Contract’s Existence Is Sufficient to Establish Jurisdiction Under Contract Disputes Act
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in Avue Technologies Corp. v. Department of Health and Human Services that an appellant’s non-frivolous allegation of a contract with the government via an end-user license agreement (EULA) incorporated into another contracto
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 11, 2024
It All Adds Up
Our Two Cents In this second inaugural episode of It All Adds Up, Nicole Owren-Wiest and Erin Rankin riff on why they care so much about government contracts cost and pricing – and why you should, too. “It All Adds Up” is Crowell & Moring’s podcast covering the latest government
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 11, 2024
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Defense Innovation Unit, AI, Proposal Timeliness This week’s episode covers DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit report about actions to maintain U.S. technological superiority, DOJ’s plans to address the dangers posed by AI technology by seeking sentencing enhancements for crimes commi
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 11, 2024
Counterclaims Against Compliance-Officer-Turned-Relator Survive Motion to Dismiss
A recent decision in a non-intervened qui tam suit in the Northern District of Georgia provides an example of a defendant threading the needle to avoid dismissal of its counterclaims despite those counterclaims arguably implicating the conduct that the relator alleged violated th
Crowell and Moring LLP · Mar 5, 2024
Yet Another Timeliness Trap for the Unsuspecting Protester: A Pre-Award Agency-Level Protest Is Functionally Denied as of the Closing Date for Receipt of Proposals, Even if the Agency Actually Denies it Later
Generally, a GAO protest challenging the terms of a solicitation is timely if filed within 10 days after the denial of an agency-level protest, “even if filed after bid opening or the closing time for receipt of proposals.” 4 C.F.R. § 21.2(a)(3). Accordingly, the salient consider
Crowell and Moring LLP · Feb 27, 2024
“Better Late Than Never?” Not Really. Two Recent GAO Sustains Highlight the Importance of Contemporaneous Documentation
“Now or later?” As individuals, we are constantly asked to prioritize our time, identifying the tasks that need to be done NOW versus those that can be put off until later. In the bid protest context, the question arises as well when agencies seek to “fill in the gaps” in the adm
Crowell and Moring LLP · Feb 26, 2024
Start the Clock: Government’s Indirect Cost Rate Claim Accrued upon Submission of Indirect Cost Rate Proposal
In Strategic Technology Institute, Inc. v. Sec’y of Def., 91 F.4th 1140 (Fed. Cir. 2024), the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), which held that the government’s 2018 claim was not time-barred by the Contract Dispute Act’s
Crowell and Moring LLP · Feb 22, 2024
Let’s Talk FCA
Criminal Investigations and the False Claims Act In this episode, Steve Byers, Jason Crawford, and Agustin Orozco discuss the intersection between False Claims Act investigations and parallel criminal proceedings. “Let’s Talk FCA” is Crowell & Moring’s podcast covering the latest
Crowell and Moring LLP · Feb 15, 2024
The Agency’s Email Server Ate My Proposal! – GAO Rejects Challenge to “Late is Late” Rule
Offerors understand that missing a submission deadline can sink even the best proposal because “late is late.” But what happens when an offeror timely emails its proposal only to have an agency server reject it without any notification to the offeror? GAO’s recent decision in Gui
Crowell and Moring LLP · Feb 15, 2024
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Salary-History Bans and Pay Transparency, Section 3610 of the CARES Act This week’s episode covers a proposed rule on salary-history bans and pay transparency for job applicants and employees of federal contractors and subcontractors, a claim relating to Section 3610 of the Coron
Crowell and Moring LLP · Feb 13, 2024