When pursuing government work, contractors frequently team together and combine resources in order to create the most appealing proposal. These arrangements are often memorialized in teaming agreements that set forth terms, including but not limited to, the purpose of the agreement, the relationship between the parties (e.g., prime versus subcontractor), and other general provisions. Importantly, … Continue Reading
On April 26, 2013, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics issued Department of Defense (“DoD”) Instruction No. 4140.67 to further establish policy to prevent counterfeit materiel at any level of the DoD supply chain. As we have previously blogged about, Section 818 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 required … Continue Reading
On May 15-16, 2013, Crowell & Moring is hosting its annual Ounce of Prevention Seminar (OOPS), which, for the past 28 years, has provided government contractors with the information they need to stay on top of the latest developments in federal contracting. In the introductory session on May 15, attorneys W. Stanfield Johnson, Thomas P. … Continue Reading
The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals reminded us last week how unforgiving the Board’s timeliness rules can be for unsuspecting contractors. In Schunck v. General Services Administration, January 31, 2013, CBCA No. 3079, the Board dismissed the appellant’s case because it was not timely filed under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), 41 U.S.C. § 7101, … Continue Reading
Government contractors will be facing a harsh budgetary and regulatory climate in 2013. With shrinking budgets and expanding compliance requirements, government contractors will have numerous developments to watch. Please join us for a special free webinar on January 16, 2013 at 2:00 EST. The Crowell & Moring team will discuss likely trends and issues in … Continue Reading
At 1:00 pm (Eastern) on December 13, 2012, Crowell & Moring attorneys Richard Arnholt and Steve Rice will conduct a webinar on behalf of L2 Federal Resources entitled “Terminations in Government Contracts: Preparing for Budget Cuts.” This 90-minute webinar will provide an overview of both termination for convenience and termination for default, the procedural steps … Continue Reading
On September 14, 2012, the Office of Management and Budget released the Administration’s long awaited report on the implementation of the potential sequester currently scheduled to occur on January 2, 2012. The report satisfies three of the four major requirements of the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (“STA”). First, it provides an estimate of the … Continue Reading
On August 1, 2012, Acting OMB Director Jeffrey Zients and Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter testified before the House Armed Services Committee on how OMB and DoD intend to implement sequestration – i.e., the mandatory budget cuts currently scheduled to occur on January 2, 2013, pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011. Director … Continue Reading
On July 29, 2012, the government launched the System for Award Management, known as SAM, which consolidated the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS). CCR and ORCA are no longer accepting new or updated submissions, so contractors may be particularly interested in exploring … Continue Reading
On Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern time), Crowell & Moring government contracts and labor attorneys Angela Styles, Kris Meade, Steve McBrady and Steve Rice, along with senior policy advisor Mike Gill, will conduct a webinar entitled “Sequestration: Preparing for Unprecedented Cuts to Federal Spending,” in conjunction with L2 Federal Resources. During this … Continue Reading
On May 21, the Senate Committee on Armed Services published a troubling report on the results of its year-long inquiry into counterfeit electronic parts in the DoD supply chain. The report found approximately 1,800 cases of suspect counterfeit electronic parts in the defense supply chain during 2009 and 2010 involving over one million individual parts. Over 70 … Continue Reading
At 1 p.m. (Eastern) on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, Crowell & Moring government contracts attorneys Chris Haile and Brian Tully McLaughlin will be conducting a webinar entitled “Government Contract Changes: How They Impact Your Bottom Line” on behalf of L2 Federal Resources. During this 90-minute webinar, Chris and Tully will address common types of changes … Continue Reading
At 1 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, April 5, 2012, Crowell & Moring government contracts attorney Addie Cliffe and international trade attorney J.J. Saulino will be conducting a webinar entitled “Navigating the Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act and Other Domestic Preference Restrictions” on behalf of L2 Federal Resources. This webinar will provide an overview of … Continue Reading
Government contractors could soon be required to create anti-human trafficking compliance plans and face stiff penalties, including criminal charges, for using trafficked labor. On March 27, 2012, anti-trafficking bills were simultaneously introduced in both chambers of Congress following recent reports of human trafficking carried out by local subcontractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. A January report … Continue Reading
On Thursday, January 19, 2012, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST, please join us for this webinar, "What Will the New Year Bring for Government Contractors? Top Headlines, Headaches, and Legal Developments to Watch in 2012.” As we begin the new year, government contractors are facing significant unknowns that could have a direct impact on … Continue Reading
On December 2, 2011, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) proposed a new rule that would require contractors bidding on specified solicitations to submit proposal adequacy checklists with their offers. The new proposed DFARS section, § 215.408(3), would give the contracting officer the discretion to include the Proposal Adequacy Checklist solicitation provision in any solicitation that … Continue Reading
On November 16, hundreds of government contractors joined us for a webinar about the new personal conflicts of interest (“PCI”) requirements and the new implementing FAR provision, 52.203-16. It was a lively discussion and we explored some of the questions and challenges relating to this new requirement. In case you missed it, a recording of the … Continue Reading
We invite you to join us on November 16 at 3pm EST for a complimentary webinar, “Understanding and Implementing the New FAR Contractor Personal Conflict of Interest Provisions.” On November 2, 2011, the FAR Councils issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to include new provisions governing personal conflicts of interest of … Continue Reading
The Recovery Act and the funds it has made available under various federal grant programs have brought renewed attention to domestic preference provisions. Contractors familiar with the longstanding Buy American Act restriction on federal procurement and the Trade Agreements Act exception have found themselves confronted by a dizzying array of much less well-known, and often … Continue Reading
Moving beyond faxes into the digital age, the Court of Federal Claims in Watterson Constr. Co. v. U.S. (Mar. 29, 2011) found that a contractor’s late proposal should be excused when the delay was caused solely by a “mail storm” at the agency which overloaded and slowed down its servers. The contractor had submitted a … Continue Reading
As the press reports about delays in the appropriations process have multiplied in recent days, we have received a number of calls from clients about the contractual issues that might arise if there is a government shutdown this Friday. Although the issues that might arise in connection with a shutdown will likely be specific to … Continue Reading
On January 12, 2011, Crowell & Moring’s government contracts group hosted its first webinar of the new year. The theme of the webinar was “What Will the New Year Bring? Top Headlines, Headaches, and Legal Developments for Government Contractors to Watch in 2011.” If you missed it, you can watch the replay by clicking here. … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, January 12, 2011, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EST, please join us for a webinar, “What Will the New Year Bring? Top Headlines, Headaches, and Legal Developments to Watch in 2011.” In 2010, government contractors witnessed a host of legal developments spurred by new transparency initiatives, a heightened emphasis on ethics and compliance, … Continue Reading
