As maChange Ahead Signny of you already know, back in February 2015, the SBA issued its long-awaited proposed rule aimed at expanding its mentor-protégé program.  The proposed regulations implement changes introduced by the Jobs Act of 2010 and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, and would permit firms, other than those that are 8(a) Certified, to participate in the mentor-protégé program.  Moreover, if the proposed rule becomes final, all of the companies participating in the revamped program will be able to take advantage of the exclusion from affiliation.  While this was great news for many at the time, it has been almost nine months since this rule was issued and there has been no sign of any further action by the SBA.  Many of our clients have been asking when the SBA is actually going to put these changes into effect.  Well, it seems like we might finally have an answer. 
Continue Reading The SBA Offers Some Specifics on the Expansion of the Mentor-Protégé Program

WelOnviaLegalLandscapecome 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

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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.


Continue Reading Edward DeLisle and Maria Panichelli Team with Onvia to Publish Periodical Government Contracting Series, Legal Landscape

Vector podcast concept in flat styleRecently, 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 SBA is on a roll!  It seems that ringing in the new year has invigorated the agency, prompting it to act on the various outstanding directives set forth in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (“NDAA”).

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Last Thursday, the agency issued its long-awaited proposed rule on the expansion of the Mentor-Protégé

You probably already know about set-aside programs offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), but did you know that provisions in your corporate governance documents could ruin your eligibility for those programs? Ed DeLisle and Maria Panichelli’s new article for Onvia covers critical corporate governance provisions that could

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The Construction Industry offers tremendous opportunities and challenges for any business owner. However, when your customer is the federal government, there is an extra layer of requirements that can either make or break your business. Just putting together a bid or proposal is a test of skill and attention to detail, but what comes next?

Over the last few years the world of federal contracting has seen an increased focus on the False Claims Act, the prevention of fraud, and the strengthening of fraud-related penalties. 2015 will certainly be no different. However, the new year brings with it a slightly different take on fraud prevention, one aimed

Several months ago, we told you about Ambuild Company v. LLC v. U.S., a very important case pending before the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”).  The AmBuild case was of particular interest to our firm because it concerned the interpretation of a Department of Veterans’ Affairs (“VA”) regulation, which the VA revised following an

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