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Developments of Interest to Design, Construction and Government Contract Professionals

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Lawyer’s Advocacy in Arbitrations: No. 5 of the Top 10 Horrible, Terrible, No Good Mistakes Lawyers Make

By David K. Taylor

October 27, 2020

David K. Taylor, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, Nashville, TN dtaylor@bradley.com 615-252-2396 This post is a continuation of the Top 10 most horrible, terrible, no good, “bang your head against the door” mistakes that I have seen lawyers make before, during, and after arbitrations in which I served as the arbitrator. As stated in the previous posts, there are pros and cons to binding arbitration versus trial in a court that go beyond a series of…

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Federal Highway Construction Funding Extended for Another Year Without Long-Term Plan in Place

By Ryan T. Kinder & Nathan V. Graham

October 26, 2020

One of the key refrains of national politics recently has been that we need to address, repair, and replace aging infrastructure. Of course, this leads to the core problem of funding as the amount of infrastructure construction and maintenance currently needed in the U.S. is staggering. The federal government recently put off dealing with this growing problem by extending funding for federal highway and public transportation programs for one year. The current infrastructure authorization bill,…

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SBA Issues Sweeping Regulatory Changes in Response to Presidential Initiative

By Aron C. Beezley & Nathaniel J. Greeson

October 19, 2020

The Small Business Administration (SBA) recently published a much-anticipated final rule on a series of important regulatory amendments, including the: Consolidation of the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Mentor-Protégé Program and the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program; Elimination of the requirement that 8(a) participants seeking to be awarded an 8(a) contract as a joint venture (JV) submit the JV agreement to the SBA for review and approval prior to contract award; Elimination of the so-called “three in…

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DoD Has Two New Cybersecurity Frameworks

By Aron C. Beezley, David Vance Lucas & Andrew Tuggle

October 6, 2020

A recent interim rule from the Department of Defense (DoD) would create a new self-assessment methodology for the cybersecurity requirements in NIST SP 800-171. The same rule also would implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Framework. The interim rule, which was published on September 29, 2020, will become effective on November 30, 2020. We have previously reported on the need for advance preparation for CMMC compliance. As discussed below, the interim rule would also…

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Significant Buy American Changes Are Coming Soon

By Aron C. Beezley

September 30, 2020

The Federal Acquisition Regulation Council recently released a proposed rule to implement the requirements of the Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials Executive Order, which was signed by President Trump on July 15, 2019. As discussed below, the proposed rule contains important amendments regarding domestic component thresholds and domestic pricing preferences, as well as reintroduces the domestic content test for commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items as it relates to certain steel and…

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10 Reasons to Intervene in Bid Protests

By Aron C. Beezley

September 18, 2020

As we noted recently, the number of bid protest filings peaks in October as a result of increased government spending at the end of the government’s fiscal year, which ends September 30. Thus, our previous article provided a fiscal year-end refresher for government contractors on the process for intervening in bid protests at both the Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. This follow-up article provides 10 reasons why government contractors…

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SBA’s New Paycheck Protection Program Appeal Rule

By Patrick R. Quigley & Aron C. Beezley

September 16, 2020

As part of Bradley’s continued reporting on issues arising from the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that uniquely impact government contractors, we summarize here a new Small Business Administration (SBA) loan decision appeal rule. Background on the New Rule On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act became law. Section 1102 of that act established the PPP, which created a program administered by the SBA to extend emergency loans to small businesses to…

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Intervention in Bid Protests: A Fiscal Year-End Refresher

By Aron C. Beezley

September 16, 2020

As a result of increased government spending at the end of the government’s fiscal year — which is the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30 — the number of bid protest filings peaks in October. Accordingly, government contractors should be particularly mindful this time of year of their rights with respect to intervening in bid protests both at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal…

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Now There’s Something You Don’t See Every Day: A Subcontractor Intervening in a Bid Protest

By Patrick R. Quigley & Aron C. Beezley

September 14, 2020

Fans of the classic 1960s cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle may recall two minor characters, Chauncey and Edgar, who commented on the action by saying something like this: “Now there’s something you don’t see every day, Edgar.” “What’s that, Chauncey?” And then Chauncey would tell the joke, such as it was. (It usually wasn’t much.) The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC), however, has just given us, in all seriousness, one of those something-you-don’t-see-every-day moments…

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UPDATE: Huawei Ban and Section 889 Representation Requirements

By Aron C. Beezley, Nathaniel J. Greeson & Sarah Sutton Osborne

September 8, 2020

To “combat the national security and intellectual property threats that face the United States,” section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits executive agencies from “entering into, or extending or renewing, a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part…

BuildSmart

Developments of Interest to Design, Construction and Government Contract Professionals

Blog Authors

Lawyer’s Advocacy in Arbitrations: No. 5 of the Top 10 Horrible, Terrible, No Good Mistakes Lawyers Make

Federal Highway Construction Funding Extended for Another Year Without Long-Term Plan in Place

SBA Issues Sweeping Regulatory Changes in Response to Presidential Initiative

DoD Has Two New Cybersecurity Frameworks

Significant Buy American Changes Are Coming Soon

10 Reasons to Intervene in Bid Protests

SBA’s New Paycheck Protection Program Appeal Rule

Intervention in Bid Protests: A Fiscal Year-End Refresher

Now There’s Something You Don’t See Every Day: A Subcontractor Intervening in a Bid Protest

UPDATE: Huawei Ban and Section 889 Representation Requirements

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