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Government Contracts
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April 26, 2024
Co. Says Policy Fight On $45B DOE Deal Isn't For Claims Court
A joint venture awarded a $45 billion nuclear waste management contract is urging the Court of Federal Claims to reject a rival's allegation that a U.S. Department of Energy policy change enabling the contract award was improper, saying the claims court lacked jurisdiction.
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April 26, 2024
Pacific Territories Temporarily Freed From 'Buy America' Rules
The Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa are exempt from "Buy America" requirements for certain federally funded infrastructure projects until March 2025, according to a policy the U.S. Department of Transportation released Friday to reduce the far-flung territories' infrastructure costs.
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April 26, 2024
Ga. Residents Want In On $300M Monkey Farm Fight
Four Georgia residents have asked a federal judge to let them intervene in a dispute over the construction of a sprawling primate-rearing farm in Bainbridge, alleging the local development authority that approved a $300 million bond deal for the project is colluding with the farm's backers to advance the project.
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April 26, 2024
Rep. Stefanik Calls For DOD To Kick Off Critical Mineral Policy
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is urging the U.S. Department of Defense to speed up the implementation of a new policy to boost domestic processing of rare-earth elements, which are critical for military equipment, saying this will make the United States less reliant on China.
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April 25, 2024
FDA Decision Didn't Prejudice Would-Be Contractor, GAO Says
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has denied a Virginia technology company's protest of the Food and Drug Administration's decision not to amend a digital communications support deal's performance period, saying the company didn't show it was competitively prejudiced by the decision.
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April 25, 2024
Gov't To Use Tribal Energy Purchase Preference For First Time
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it intends to purchase thousands of megawatts of carbon-pollution-free electricity certificates from tribal sources, marking the first time the government will use a nearly two-decade-old procurement preference for tribally sourced energy.
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April 25, 2024
Biden Admin's Gas Venting Curbs Are Illegal, ND Says
A North Dakota-led alliance of states has accused the Biden administration of pushing through limits on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector illegally disguised as a rule to reduce industry waste, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
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April 25, 2024
3 Accused Of $36M COVID Test Fraud Scheme In Fla. Case
Three owners of laboratories spanning the U.S. were indicted by a grand jury in Florida on federal charges that they conspired to defraud the U.S. government by more than $36 million in a scheme that involved submitting false COVID-19 testing claims to healthcare benefit programs.
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April 25, 2024
DOL Wage Trumps Local Pay Rate For FDA Contract, Board Rules
An appeals board has denied a nonprofit's request for increased payment for janitorial services at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's headquarters following a change to the local county's minimum wage, saying the government was only required to pay the federal prevailing wage.
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April 25, 2024
DOD Unblocks Cohen Seglias From Emails Following Lawsuit
Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC on Thursday dropped its lawsuit against the Defense Information Systems Agency after the agency acknowledged it mistakenly flagged the firm for malware and blocked it from government emails, the firm's attorney told Law360.
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April 24, 2024
3M And Ga. Utility Say $850M PFAS Cleanup Plan A No-Go
3M, a Georgia utilities provider and carpet and chemical manufacturers told a Georgia federal judge Wednesday they shouldn't have to face an $850 million remediation plan to clean up alleged waterway contamination from forever chemicals.
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April 24, 2024
DOL Says Firm 'Repeatedly' Misclassified Highway Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor recently determined that a subcontractor "repeatedly misclassified" employees who worked on 25 federal highway construction projects in Pennsylvania, according to a notice filed in Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday in a lawsuit against three construction firms.
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April 24, 2024
GAO Says Space Force Deal Protest Timely But Unwarranted
The U.S. Government Accountability Office ruled that a protest over a U.S. Space Force research support contract submitted pre-deadline but deleted by an email server was timely, but said the Space Force properly excluded the protester's deficient bid from consideration.
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April 24, 2024
UPMC Affiliate Can't Avoid False Claims Suit Over NIH Grant
A research foundation affiliated with a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital can't duck a former employee's claims that the foundation mishandled grant money and fired her for raising concerns, though UPMC itself is off the hook, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
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April 24, 2024
Watchdog Says ICE Paid $25.3M For Empty Detention Space
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed to review its contract with private prison operator GEO Group Inc. in California after a federal watchdog found it paid $25.3 million for hundreds of unused beds.
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April 24, 2024
GSA Reasonably Changed Terms On Polaris IT Deal
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected a protest over the terms of an amendment to the U.S. General Services Administration's multibillion-dollar Polaris information technology procurement, saying the agency appropriately responded to an earlier court decision.
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April 24, 2024
Broken Promises Land Ga. Prison Officials In Contempt
A Georgia federal judge has slapped the state's prison officials with a contempt ruling imposing fines and appointing an independent monitor after finding the state Department of Corrections has for years flouted the terms of a settlement over its treatment of prisoners in its most punitive unit.
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April 24, 2024
Biden Admin Closes $362M Loan To Texas EV-Wiring Maker
The Biden administration has finalized a $362 million loan to help pay for a Texas automotive-wiring component plant, a move intended to boost the U.S. domestic supply chain for electric vehicles.
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April 24, 2024
4th Circ. Revives Worker's Age Bias Suit Against IT Co.
The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday reinstated a former information technology company worker's lawsuit alleging she was unlawfully fired and replaced by someone nearly 30 years her junior, saying a trial court held her to too high a standard when it threw out her case.
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April 24, 2024
EPA Floats $1B In School Bus, Truck Electrification Grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said it would offer approximately $1 billion in grants to fund the electrification of school buses, garbage trucks and other heavy-duty commercial vehicles, another part of the Biden administration's efforts to decarbonize the U.S. transportation sector.
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April 23, 2024
Globetrotters Say SBA's 'Bureaucratic Hell' Cost COVID Grant
The Harlem Globetrotters on Monday renewed their yearslong fight with the U.S. Small Business Administration over a $10 million COVID-19 relief grant, filing a new suit in D.C. federal court accusing the SBA of leaving the team in "bureaucratic hell" rather than forking over the money it's entitled to.
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April 23, 2024
Tracking Tech Maker Calls USPS' $282M Deal Redo Irrational
A software company pressed the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to again order the U.S. Postal Service to redo a $281.8 million vehicle tracking deal, saying the agency's course correct ignored that one-third of the agreement had been completed.
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April 23, 2024
Security Concerns May Hamper AUKUS Partnership
The U.S. Department of State is facing pressure from Congress to ease export controls to support the fledgling AUKUS defense partnership, but concerns over Australia and the U.K.'s readiness to protect U.S. weapons technology may be causing it to stall.
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April 23, 2024
Sharper Sustainability Rule May Strengthen Bid Protests
A new regulation for more environmentally friendly government purchases puts teeth into a long-standing requirement for sustainable procurement, and is likely to strengthen businesses' arguments in bid protests as agencies wrestle with the full scope of the rule.
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April 23, 2024
Biz Owner Faces Second Jury Over Alleged VA Kickback Plot
An Illinois business owner faced his second federal jury Tuesday as prosecutors asserted he should be convicted of wire fraud for paying kickbacks to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clerk in exchange for medical equipment business that included "bogus" rental fees.
Expert Analysis
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What New DHS Cybersecurity Policy Means For Bid Protests
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's recently unveiled policy of factoring cybersecurity self-assessments into its overall evaluation of contractors could raise novel bid protest considerations for offerors in both the pre-award and post-award contexts, say Amy Hoang at Seyfarth and Sandeep Kathuria at L3Harris Technologies.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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Contracts Disputes Recap: Be Mindful Of Termination Clauses
Edward Arnold and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine three recent rulings — one from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and two from the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals — that highlight the termination clause as one of the most potent remedy-granting contract clauses.
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2 HHS Warnings Highlight Anti-Kickback Risks For Physicians
Two recent advisory opinions issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General involve different scenarios and rationales, but together they illustrate the OIG's focus on and disapproval of contractual joint ventures and other revenue-maximizing physician arrangements, say Robert Threlkeld and Elliott Coward at Morris Manning.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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Best Practices For Defense Tech Startup Financing
Navigating the expanding and highly regulated defense technology sector requires careful planning and execution, starting at incorporation, so startups should prepare for foreign investor issues, choose their funding wisely and manage their funds carefully, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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Looking For Defense Contract Appeal Trends In Annual Report
A deep dive into the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals annual report for the 2023 fiscal year reveals increases in the number of cases filed, pending motions and expedited or accelerated cases, while the board disposed of fewer cases than in prior fiscal years, say Scott Flesch and Alexandra Prime at Miller & Chevalier.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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SolarWinds Ushers In New Era Of SEC Cyber Enforcement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against software company SolarWinds Corp. and its chief information security officer is the first time the SEC has ever filed suit over scienter-based fraud involving cybersecurity failures, illustrating that both companies and CISOs need to be extra cautious in how they describe their cybersecurity practices, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.