Insights

Washington, D.C. – February 11, 2015: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that  San Francisco-based litigation partner Doug Sullivan, corporate partner Murray Indick, and senior counsel Mike Kahn, as well as Washington, D.C.-based partner and  Government Contracts Group co-chair, Dan Forman, have been named to BTI Consulting Group's list of 2015 "Client Service All-Stars." The BTI list recognizes attorneys for their superior client focus, innovative thought leadership, unmatched business understanding, legal skills, outsized value, and outstanding results delivered to clients, according to a survey of general counsel conducted by BTI. This is the third consecutive year that Sullivan and Kahn have been named to the All-Stars list, as well as the second consecutive year that they have been named to the "Client Service All-Star MVP" list.

Washington, D.C. – January 13, 2015: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its third annual "Litigation Forecast: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year," and the introduction of its first-ever "Regulatory Forecast 2015: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year."

Washington, D.C. – September 15, 2014: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that Washington, D.C.-based Government Contracts Group partner Peter J. Eyre has been named to the National Law Journal's list of "40 Under 40 Rising Stars." The 2014 list spotlights 40 private, government, and public interest advocacy attorneys—each 40 or under—who are leaders in the law.

On December 27, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act (S.3905) to strengthen the current rules relating to identification and mitigation of organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) in federal acquisition. The Act focuses on updating the current FAR provision, Subpart 9.5, to provide clear definitions, examples, and guidance on potential OCIs and to consider expanding the Subpart to cover certain commercial and foreign relationships.

On January 13, the Court of Federal Claims in Shell Oil Co. v. U.S. held (1) the government was not liable for CERCLA environmental cleanup costs under the "Taxes" clause in certain World War II-era contracts; and (2) even if the "Taxes" clause had provided for indemnification, any indemnification rights were not preserved after contract termination. The "Taxes" clause and the absence of a reservation of rights to pursue indemnification in Shell is in contrast with the explicit "hold harmless" clauses in the facilities contracts cases in which the contractor reserved its rights to pursue indemnification (Ford and DuPont) and indemnification clauses authorized under Public Law 85-804, which contain explicit post-contract termination provisions.

In Diebold, Inc. (June 2, 2011), GAO sustained a protest when the Comptroller of the Currency had substituted new terms and conditions beneficial to the awardee into a commercial items contract that were not part of the underlying solicitation. While GAO agreed that FAR § 12.302(a) gives an agency discretion to tailor the terms of FAR Clause 52.212-4 to the market practices and conditions for a particular commercial item acquisition, it instructed that all offerors must compete on a common basis against the agency's true needs and so "tailoring" of the terms must occur prior to the submission of final proposals.

Washington, D.C.-based Government Contacts Group partner, Peter Eyre, talks to Law360 regarding a final rule that will tighten restrictions on human trafficking in government contracting. Under its requirements, all contractors must disclose working conditions to employees, are barred from confiscating passports or other immigration documents, must ensure that workers aren't being charged any recruitment fees, and must provide the worker with return transportation for non-nationals. "I think another big question is: 'Who pays for this?'" Eyre said. "There are some very specific obligations, both the compliance plan ... and others. But who is going to pay for that?"

As 2023 rolls in, what changes can government contractors expect? What will be the focus of the US Government? How should contractors prepare?

This week's episode covers new guidance from GSA about acquisition of approved software, DOJ’s report of activity under the False Claims Act during FY22, and DoD’s use of innovative commercial products and services using general solicitation competitive procedures, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring's "Fastest 5 Minutes" is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.