Wel
come to the second edition of Legal Landscape, a series we have developed with Onvia’s blog to provide government contractors with a quick, but thorough, summary of important legal developments and regulations in government contracting, as well as a plain-English explanation of how those developments may affect contractors at all levels of government. In this issue, we discuss recent compliance and enforcement trends in federal as well as state and local government contracting. State and local contractors should keep in mind that state and local agencies often look to changes in federal regulations as a guideline; changes recently made in the federal arena are likely to trickle down to state and local governments soon.
Continue Reading Legal Landscape: Big Changes to Prevent Discrimination, Fraud and Non-Compliance
E-Discovery- Bring Back the Boxes
It is not uncommon, in the litigation of a federal construction claim, for the Government to produce gigabytes of electronic data, amounting to thousands and thousands of documents, in response to a motion for the production of documents. Frequently, these “electronic” documents are simply the scanned versions of paper files in the Government’s offices. In the scanning process, extensive duplication occurs and documents that are clearly separate in paper file folders are scanned together in a manner that often combines multiple documents. Once combining occurs, it is very difficult for the recipient of the electronic information to tell where one document ends and the next one begins. Documents and their attachments become confused, are re-arranged, and difficult to follow.
Continue Reading E-Discovery- Bring Back the Boxes
Difficulty in Obtaining the Approval of an Individual Surety
In a recent decision issued by the United States Court of Federal Claims, Anthem Builders, Inc. v. United States, April 6, 2015, WL 1546437, the Court considered a protest involving the proposed use of an individual surety to furnish required bonds. Under FAR 28.203, an individual surety may be accepted on a federal construction
Sikorsky and its Impact on Claims Submission
In December 2014, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an important decision that impacts how the 6 year statute of limitations (SOL) is applied under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). In Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation v. United States, the Court of Appeals determined that the CDA’s 6 year SOL for filing a
Edward DeLisle and Maria Panichelli Team with Onvia to Publish Periodical Government Contracting Series, Legal Landscape
Exciting news! We recently teamed up with Onvia, a well-known government contracting resource delivering the necessary data, business intelligence, analytics and tools to help clients succeed in the government market. In addition to our continued posts on this blog, we will now be publishing a series called Legal Landscape on Onvia’s blog. The quarterly series is specifically designed to provide government contractors with a quick, but thorough, summary of important legal developments, as well as a plain-English explanation of how those developments may affect you.
New Anti-Trafficking Rule Presents Significant Challenges for Government Contractors
Effective today, a new Anti-Trafficking rule will substantially change and increase federal contractors’ compliance and certification requirements. The Anti-Trafficking rule requires that all federal contractors take certain actions related to combating human trafficking and slavery in their supply and contracting chains. Human trafficking has been a high-profile issue in government contracting in recent years, drawing
Guilty By Affiliation
Recently, Maria Panichelli was interviewed by Raymond Thibodeaux from AOC Key Solutions for a podcast entitled “Guilty by Affiliation.” During this podcast, Maria and Ray spoke about a variety of affiliation-related issues. Topics covered included the various types of affiliation, the consequences of being deemed “affiliated” with another business, and, perhaps most importantly,
The 4th Circuit Expands Liability Under the False Claims Act
On January 8, 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision in United States v. Triple Canopy, which broadened the reach of the False Claims Act (FCA) by embracing the theory of implied certification. While it is too early to speculate about the impact of the decision, it certainly could
How to Effectively Team on a Federal Project
Join partners Michael Payne and Ed DeLisle at the 2015 National 8(a) Association Winter Conference in Orlando, Florida for their presentation, “How to Effectively Team on a Federal Project.” In this discussion, Michael and Ed will explore the importance of well-crafted teaming agreements and how they are viewed by courts of various jurisdictions.
Best Practices in Construction Webinar
On December 3, Jennifer Horn and Maria Panichelli presented the second webinar in their core construction curriculum series for Women Impacting Public Policy and Give Me 5%. The presentation, entitled “Best Practices in Construction,” covered suggested best practices for before, during, and after the conclusion of a construction project, in the context of both