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The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  In this series, Crowell’s Government Contracts Practice will keep you up to date with a summary of one of the most notable bid protest sustain decisions each month.  Below, Crowell Consultant (and former GAO Bid Protest Hearing Officer) Cherie Owen discusses GAO’s decision in Anika Sys., Inc., B-422681.5, B-422681.6, Apr. 8, 2025, which found a technical evaluation unreasonable where it showed evidence of disparate treatment and imposed an unstated requirement for solutions to be “innovative and creative.”

Continue Reading April 2025 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month: Protester Finds Success Challenging its Technical Evaluation
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A string of GAO protest sustains this spring, most recently in Owl International Inc., d/b/a Global, a 1st Flagship Company, B-423281, B-423281.2, April 25, 2025, demonstrates that the evaluation of professional employee compensation remains a successful post-award protest argument. 

Continue Reading Recent GAO Decisions Show Professional Employee Compensation Challenges Remain a Successful Protest Argument
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In this episode, Crowell’s hosts Agustin Orozco and Jason Crawford speak with Crowell attorneys Simeon Yerokun and Katherine Quinn about DOJ’s plan to aggressively use the FCA against illegal foreign trade practices. This episode includes discussion of common areas of FCA enforcement in cases involving allegations of customs fraud, and the hosts address steps that importers can take to mitigate risks. “Let’s Talk FCA” is Crowell & Moring’s podcast covering the latest developments with the False Claims Act.

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On May 7, 2025, GAO issued a decision in Raven Investigations & Security Consulting, LLC, B-423447, warning the bid protest bar that artificial intelligence (“AI”)-based tools utilized without proper oversight may result in severe consequences, including dismissal of the protest and sanctions.

Continue Reading “Confirm You’re Not a Robot”: AI-Written Briefs Could Lead to Sanctions
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On May 12, 2025, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it is holding a tribal consultation meeting and requesting comments and input on topics relating to the 8(a) and mentor-protégé programs. The tribal consultation will be held on June 13, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska, and SBA is anticipating that the meeting will cover a range of topics relevant to 8(a) and mentor-protégé program participants.

Continue Reading Tribal Consultation Meeting for 8(a) Business Development and Mentor-Protégé Programs Provides Insight Into SBA Priorities Under the New Administration
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On May 7, 2025, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA or the “Agency”) announced the approval[1] of a revised and expanded Standard Form (SF) 328, Certificate Pertaining to Foreign Interests. Contractors and subcontractors engaged in work involving classified information use the SF-328 for disclosures relating to foreign ownership, control, or influence—and the form will soon be required for contractors and subcontractors in the unclassified space for certain covered contracts. Publication of the updated form has not yet occurred but is expected as soon as this weekend (May 10-11). New SF-328 forms will be required for initial and changed condition packages initiated on or after May 12 according to a National Industrial Security System (NISS) communication today.

Continue Reading New SF-328 for Foreign Ownership, Control, and Influence Assessments Approved, Publication Imminent
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This week’s episode covers the FAR rewrite initiative, GSA’s OneGov Strategy, and a GSA incentive program that rewards employees with financial bonuses when the agency meets its spending reduction goals, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.

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PodBean | SoundCloud | iTunes

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On May 1, 2025, the Department of Defense announced the release of the long-anticipated 81-page Intellectual Property Guidebook for DoD Acquisition, which is aimed primarily at assisting acquisition professionals to develop, execute, and manage IP strategies that support functional area requirements and objectives across program life cycles. The Guidebook also provides guidance on the implementation of IP laws and regulations, describes operational challenges related to IP, and promotes industry partnerships. Crowell will provide more details regarding the Guidebook and its potential impacts in the coming days.

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The US Department of Justice intends to “aggressively” enforce the False Claims Act, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston said in a speech at the Federal Bar Association’s annual qui tam conference earlier this year. He added that the agency particularly would focus on “illegal foreign trade practices” in conjunction with the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs.

Continue Reading Aggressive FCA Enforcement in Customs Calls for Compliance Review
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On May 2, 2025, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) issued the first round of promised FAR rewrites—to Parts 1, 34, and 52—alongside a guidance memorandum for agencies subject to the FAR, Deviation Guidance to Support the Overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR Council Deviation Guidance”). The Office of Management and Budget also released a guidance memo, Overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“OMB Guidance”), that addresses the proposed implementation roadmap for the FAR overhaul. These initial FAR revisions follow the April 15, 2025 Executive Order (“EO”), Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, which we previously reported on here.

Continue Reading First Round of FAR Rewrites Released