Legal Information & Resources for Federal Construction Contractors
Please join our Federal Contracting Practice Group for a Networking Cocktail Reception preceded by a precise presentation on Avoiding the Pitfalls in Federal Construction Contracting.
This networking event will facilitate interaction between large and small businesses that are looking to understand how to win federal construction contracts. The presentation, led by Federal Contracting Chair, Michael …
By: Edward T. DeLisle & Maria L. Panichelli
On August 27, 2012, FAR council issued a final rule entitled Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (“the Rule”). Although this Final Rule was implemented just last month, it has been a topic of discussion on Capitol Hill for over six years.
In 2006, the Federal …
By: Robert E. Little, Jr.
Several months ago, I was asked to present testimony before House Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law on the subject of individual sureties. In that testimony, I warned that legal precedent had had little effect on policing individual sureties. Using the example in the Tip Top Construction case, I…
By: Edward T. DeLisle & Maria L. Panichelli
We’ve warned you before: the False Claims Act should be taken seriously. In recent years, the government has been increasingly willing to wield the provisions of the FCA as weapons, zealously punishing offending federal contractors.
A recent opinion United States ex rel. Hooper v. Lockheed Martin …
By: Edward T. DeLisle & Maria L. Panichelli
The federal government’s much-anticipated new contractor registration system, “SAM” was launched on July 30, 2012. SAM (short for System for Award Management) replaces the former Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system, and will ultimately integrate eight federal procurement systems (CCR, FedReg, ORCA, EPLS, CFDA, eSRS, FBO, FPDS-NG, FSRS,…
By: Edward T. DeLisle & Maria L. Panichelli
Be careful what you ask for, or, in the context of federal government contracting, be careful how you ask and how the government responds. If you’re not careful, you may get what you ask for, but lose a contract. That’s the lesson learned in NCI Information Systems, …
By: Joseph A. Hackenbracht
Federal contractors need to prepare for another change in the online environment. Currently scheduled to take place in late July of this year, the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system will no longer exist. The Federal government is starting a new registration system called the System for Award Management, or SAM [Uncle,…
By: Michael H. Payne
There has been a noticeable increase in the number of contractors proposed for debarment and in the tenacity with which alleged ethical violations are being investigated. Government contractors who receive contract awards in excess of $5 million are required to have a written Code of Business Ethics and Conduct pursuant to…
By: Michael H. Payne
A protest that challenges the source selection decision on a negotiated, best value, procurement is not easy to win. Numerous decisions of the GAO and the United States Court of Federal Claims have held that procurement officials are entitled to substantial deference. In a recent decision by the Court of Federal…
By: Michael H. Payne
Government contractors frequently use incorrect terminology to describe a solicitation. For example, clients often call me and ask why they were not awarded a contract even though they had submitted the lowest bid. The first thing that I ask is whether the solicitation was a Request for Proposals ("RFP"), or an…
