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SmallGovCon Week In Review: September 18-22, 2017

Greetings from Omaha, where I’ve just wrapped up a great half-day training session sponsored by the Nebraska PTAC.  If you haven’t been to Omaha, you’re missing out: I’m enjoying exploring the Old Market District, and keep wondering when I’ll run into Warren Buffett. Of course, I’m not about to let a little road trip get in the way of our weekly roundup of government contracts news. In this edition of the SmallGovCon Week In Review, we have an update on an SDVOSB fraud case that we have been fo

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

In Memoriam: APTAC’s Becky Peterson

Small government contractors lost an important ally last week–and many of us lost a great friend. Becky Peterson, the longtime Interim Executive Director of the Association of Procurement Technical Centers, passed away on Thursday.  Her legacy lives on in the amazing network of PTACs across the country. I first met Becky a number of years ago, when she and the APTAC leadership team took a chance, and invited a little-known government contracts associate to give a breakout session at the APTA

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Thank You, Nebraska!

I am back in Lawrence after a great trip late last week to Omaha, where I gave a half-day seminar on joint venturing, teaming and subcontracting for federal government small business contracts. Thank you very much to Veronica Doga and her team at the Nebraska PTAC for organizing the event and making sure everything ran smoothly.  Thanks also to the other sponsors for contributing their time, expertise and meals (like many things in life, in-depth seminars on government contracts always go over

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Postal Service Customer Files $50,000 PSBCA Appeal Over Lost Mail

A dissatisfied U.S. Postal Service customer filed an appeal with the Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals, seeking $50,000 in damages resulting from the Postal Service’s failure to deliver a Priority Mail package. The appellant contended that it had a contract with the Postal Service, which was breached when the Postal Service failed to deliver the package.  But the appellant’s cleverness wasn’t enough to prevail: the Board held that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal. The case of Tr

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Release of Claims Can’t Be Undone by Refusing Government Payment

I recall sitting in a mediation one day when the mediator, a judge, told me and my client that we all have lightning in our fingers. He went on to explain that this means, once you sign a contract, it’s like magic in the sense that you can’t get out of the contract and are bound by it, absent certain exceptional circumstances. I was reminded of this concept while reading a recent opinion from the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals that dealt with the effect of a contractor signing a relea

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week inReview: December 18-22, 2023

Happy Holidays, Blog Readers! Please make sure to thank all those that work tirelessly during the holidays to make things merry and bright and I’m not just referring to Santa. We truly appreciate you! We hope you have a very joyful holiday season surrounded by family and friends. And now in federal government contracting news this week, a big update about labor in federal construction projects. Fact Sheet: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Action to Support Economic and Effic

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week In Review: September 25-29, 2017

It’s a sad day here at Koprince Law. Molly Schemm, who has been my fantastic legal executive assistant since before the firm’s doors even opened, is leaving to pursue new adventures in Alabama.  All of us here at the firm will miss Molly dearly–and we won’t be the only ones.  Molly’s warmth and professionalism have earned her many friends among our clients, too.  We wish Molly the very best. Before the weekend begins (and Molly begins her drive South), it’s time for your weekly dose of SmallGov

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SBA Proposes Rules For SDVOSB/VOSB CVE Protests & Appeals

The SBA has proposed rules to enable contractors to file protests with the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals challenging the SDVOSB or VOSB status of a company included in the VA’s CVE VetBiz database.  The same set of proposed rules would allow a contractor to appeal to OHA if the VA denies the contractor’s application for inclusion in the CVE database, or cancels an existing verification. The proposed rules, once finalized, will offer important new protections for SDVOSBs and VOSBs and are t

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Ostensible Subcontractor Affiliation: Who Manages The Work Matters

So you’ve teamed with an ineligible incumbent contractor to bid on some government work and, to try and maintain continuity, the incumbent would like to retain project management functions. “No big deal,” you think, “I’ll just create a management position to oversee the project manager.” Actually, it could be a big deal if you’re trying to avoid ostensible subcontractor affiliation. Among the four key factors for determining ostensible subcontractor affiliation is whether the management previou

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week In Review: October 2-6, 2017

The baseball playoffs are back, and tonight I’ll be watching my Cubs begin their quest for back-to-back titles.  (If you’re not a lifelong Cubs fan, you may not realize how strange it feels to write that previous sentence). Before the games begin, it’s time for our weekly dose of government contracting news.  In this week’s edition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review, the DOJ charges four men with participating in a bribery and kickback conspiracy, the GAO publishes a report finding that many con

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Event Announcement: APTAC’s 2023 Fall Training Conference

Nicole Pottroff and I are excited to attend the Fall APTAC conference in Washington DC and will be presenting on legal updates on November 6. The conference gives agencies and primes the opportunity to promote supplier diversity programs and learn how the APEX Accelerators can partner and assist in meeting contracting goals. The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) is the professional organization of and for the DoD APEX Accelerators nationwide. APTAC supports the

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 23-27, 2023

Happy Friday and happy Halloween! Nicole Pottroff enjoyed presenting at the recent ICBSSHOW this week and enjoyed talking to many of our readers. But it’s also the last weekend to prepare and to stock up on candy for those trick or treaters. Hope the federal contracting stories from this week aren’t too scary. This week in federal government contracting news, the Office of Management and Budget is setting a goal of awarding 13% of federal contract spending to “small, disadvantaged business

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

How Joint Ventures Really Work: My “Game Changers” Podcast

Ah, joint ventures.  Few topics in government contracting these days seem to cause as much confusion.  And that’s due, in large part, to some common misunderstandings I hear repeated over and over. Recently, I joined host Michael LeJeune on the “Game Changers” podcast to talk about some of the most common areas of confusion regarding joint ventures.  What is the relationship between joint ventures and the SBA’s new All-Small Mentor-Protege Program?  How do the rules for joint venture work share

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

GAO: Navy Cannot Order Items Not Listed on Vendor’s FSS Schedule

Like many, I enjoy a good meal out on the town. I tend to order strictly from the menu without any additions or substitutions. Perhaps, it is from all my years of waitressing prior to attending law school. In a recent GAO decision, however, the Navy attempted to order items not on the vendor’s menu only to have GAO determine that the order was beyond the scope of that menu. In Bluewater Management Group, LLC, B-414785, Bluewater protested the Navy’s award of lodging and transportation services

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

When You Assume: Proposals Don’t Automatically Include “Industry Standards”

When preparing a proposal for a Government solicitation, ensuring that your product or service meets all of the requirements specified by the Government’s solicitation is essential. Simple enough, right? Not necessarily. One of the most frequent pitfalls in proposal preparation is assuming the Government understands your products and industry as well as you do, which may not be the case.  A recent GAO bid protest demonstrates that a “well-written proposal” sometimes must include information tha

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

5 Things You Should Know: SBIR/STTR Programs

Beyond set-aside procurements, the government bolsters small businesses by encouraging their participation in federally-funded research. Two key programs exist: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. Ultimately, the government hopes that participating small businesses will commercialize technologies developed with federal research dollars. While the two programs are similar, a key feature distinguishes them: the STTR Progr

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Protester Must Wait for Conclusion of Extended Debriefing to Protest, Says GAO

As those familiar with government contracts are undoubtedly aware, ensuring a bid protest is timely filed with GAO is a paramount consideration. GAO takes a particularly dim view of protests not filed in accordance with its timeliness regulations, which can encourage parties to file a protest as quickly as possible. As GAO recently explained, however, in the context of extended debriefings, there is such a thing as filing too soon. Celeris Systems, Inc., B-416890 (Comp. Gen. Oct. 11, 2018), i

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

5 Things You Should Know: Disaster Relief Federal Government Contracting

The 2018 Hurricane Season is now in full swing and the damage cost totals continue to rise for our friends on the East Coast. Disasters, like hurricanes, often arise quickly and without much warning, requiring quick responses from the Government and government contractors. If your small business has been impacted by a natural disaster, or is interested in participating in the rebuilding and relief efforts that follow cataclysmic events by acquiring government contracts, here are five things you

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Thank You, Utah!

I am back from a great trip to Salt Lake City, where I spoke at the Utah PTAC Symposium.  My talk at the symposium centered on prime/subcontractor teams and joint ventures–topics of ever-increasing interest for small and large contractors alike. It was wonderful to see so many clients and old friends at the Symposium and meet so many new people, too.  A big “thank you” to Chuck Spence and his team at the Utah PTAC for organizing this event and inviting me to speak.  And thank you, also, to ever

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Protesting IDIQ Solicitation Ambiguities at the Task Order Level? Too Late, Says GAO

Patent ambiguities present in the solicitation for an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity procurement must be protested prior to the close of proposal submission for the base contract—waiting to protest at the task order level may be too late. A recent GAO decision shows that when an IDIQ solicitation contains an obvious ambiguity, the rule is “speak now or forever hold your peace.” By the time task order competitions get rolling, the chance to protest will likely be gone. In Draeger, In

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

SmallGovCon Week In Review: October 9-13, 2017

My heart rate has finally come down after the exciting finish to Game Five of the Cubs-Nationals playoff series last night.  I caught the first few innings waiting for my flight in Salt Lake City, and the game (which clocked in at more than 4 1/2 hours) was still going when I landed in Kansas City a couple hours later.  Thanks in part to the magic of instant replay, my Cubs were victorious, and will continue their World Series title defense against the Dodgers this weekend. Clearly, my mind is

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Wrong File Format? No Problem, Says GAO (At Least This Time)

Ahh, fall. A time for football, hay rides, and returning to campus. Being in a college town, we are always reminded that students are back on campus due to the increased traffic, the homecoming parade, and the increased buzz (no pun intended) around the town. The onset of fall sometimes dredges up unwanted memories about turning in term papers and meeting all the inane requirements insisted upon by the professor. A recent GAO opinion also brought me back to my college days. Specifically, what h

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

NHO Prime Gets “Experience” Weakness Despite Experienced Affiliate

An agency was allowed to assign a Native Hawaiian-owned prime contractor a weakness for its experience because the NHO prime lacked relevant experience–even though the prime’s proposal indicated that it would rely in part on the resources of an experienced NHO sister company. A recent GAO bid decision demonstrates that while a procuring agency is entitled to consider the experience and past performance of a prime contractor’s affiliates under certain circumstances, the agency is not precluded f

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case: 8(a) Program Survives Constitutional Challenge

In a big victory for proponents of the 8(a) program, the Supreme Court of the United States has denied the Petition for Certiorari filed by Rothe Development, Inc. Consequently, the decision of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit finding the statutes establishing 8(a) program to be constitutional will be allowed to stand. For those of you who are new to the Rothe Development case, it is a long-running constitutional challenge to the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program. Rothe argued t

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

5 Things You Should Know: SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program (The Basics)

If you’re a small business owner interested in government contracts, you’ve probably heard about the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program. The 8(a) Program itself is complex, but its potential benefits are tremendous. In this post, I’ll break down some of the very basics about the 8(a) Program, leaving some of its complexities for upcoming posts. Let’s get to it: here are five things you should know about the 8(a) Program. What is the 8(a) Program? Like SBA’s other contracting programs

Koprince Law LLC

Koprince Law LLC

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