The Procurement Playbook

The nonmanufacturer rule is one of the more complicated small business rules.  Under 13 CFR § 121.406(b), a small business may qualify as a nonmanufacturer if it 1) does not exceed 500 employees; 2) is primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of item […]

A powerful tool to combat fraud, waste, and abuse, the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq.) (the “FCA”) imposes civil liability upon any individual or corporation who knowingly submits, or causes the submission of, a false or fraudulent claim to the United States.  As we discussed in a […]

Last Friday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a Federal Register notice setting forth proposed amendments to the GAO Bid Protest Regulations (4 C.F.R. Part 21).   Below, we review the major proposed changes to the GAO Bid Protest Regulations you should know about: Electronic Protest Docketing System On January 17, […]

Fiscal Year 2016 marked the seventh straight year that the budget set aside for federal government contracts has decreased.  With fewer bidding opportunities, contractors of all sizes are utilizing aggressive tactics to maximize their chances of winning a federal government contract.  Such was the case in a recent Government Accountability […]

In the recent ASBCA case Appeal of SupplyCore, Inc., ASBCA No. 58676, the government successfully defended against a claim for post-termination labor costs, where the contractor argued that the government had violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing with regard to the timing of the Army’s decision to […]

Timely given that last week was National Women in Construction Week, the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) recently published a notice in the Federal Register expanding the use of 113 new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Industry groups for women-owned business (WOSB) set-asides.  Such a determination was made following a study […]

On Tuesday, the Court of Federal Claims sent another reminder of the importance of always marking proprietary information throughout the duration of contract performance and not just during the proposal phase. In Dyncorp International, LLC v. United States, DynCorp protested the Air Force’s release of its proprietary indirect cost and […]

Recently, the United States Small Business Administration Office of Hearing and Appeals (“SBA-OHA”) provided a reminder of the risk that a contract awardee takes by not promptly responding to a size protest.  The awardee in Size Appeal of OxyHeal Medical Systems, Inc, SBA No. SIZ-5707 (2016) learned the hard way when, after it failed […]

Oles Morrison attorneys, Adam K. Lasky and Shaun C. Kennedy, have been invited to co-present at the Alliance Northwest 2016 Conference on Thursday, March 10, 2016. Their presentation, “Make Your Debriefing Count: How to Use the Debriefing Process,” will cover best practices and strategies to help decision-makers during the pre- […]

In 1963, the U.S. Court of Claims established a rule known as the “Christian Doctrine,” which provides that certain mandatory contract clauses are incorporated, by law, into an otherwise validly awarded contract, even if the contracting agency accidentally omits that clause from the solicitation.  Over the past 60 years, the “Christian Doctrine,” has […]

Recently, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released its annual bid protest report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, which reflected a slight decrease in the protest “sustain” rate, and a slight increase in the protest “effectiveness” rate, from FY 2014 to FY 2015.  While the statistics in GAO’s annual report are certainly interesting, what […]

In a size appeal decision released this past week, the United States Small Business Administration Office of Hearing and Appeals (“SBA-OHA”) took the rare step of overturning its past precedent in the process of affirming a finding of affiliation.  In Size Appeal of Tenax Aerospace, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5701 (2015), the SBA […]

In Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) raked in $3.6 billion in settlements and judgments from civil actions filed under the False Claims Act (“FCA”).  This marks the fourth consecutive year that the United States’ recovery under the FCA exceeded $3.5 billion.   This trend suggests that aggressive […]

A recent Court of Federal Claims (“COFC” or “Court”) decision denied a post-award bid protest applying the rarely successful equitable defense of laches.  In addition to finding the protest failed on the merits, COFC found that the disappointed bidder unreasonably delayed in bringing the protest by waiting more than eight months after […]

As many readers may know, in February 2015, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released its proposed rule to establish a mentor-protégé program for all small businesses.  Currently available only to participants of the SBA’s 8(a) Program, the SBA’s proposed rule would create a new mentor-protégé program open to all […]