On Friday, March 20, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum No. M-20-18, titled “Managing Federal Contract Performance Issues Associated With The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).” The Memorandum, directed to the heads of all Executive Departments and constituent federal agencies, provides key guidance on maintaining continued contract performance while respecting the need to protect the safety of the contracting community during this unprecedented time. The critical aspects of the Memorandum, accompanied by a contractor “To Do” list, are as follows:
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Be Sure to Drink Your Ovaltine—the DOD Cybersecurity Decoder Pin for Federal Encryption Standards—The Government Contractor
In the seminal holiday film A Christmas Story, nine-year-old Ralphie Parker uses his diligently earned Little Orphan Annie Secret Society decoder pin to decrypt the secret message from Annie to her fans, only to express disappointment and confusion when he realizes the “secret code” he decrypted is nothing more than a marketing ploy to sell
SBA’s Proposal Would Help Small Business Teaming – Law360
Federal contractors can finally look forward to simplified small-business mentor-protege programs, but also must become keenly aware of wide-ranging changes affecting certain 8(a) business development and Native American-owned programs, new recertification requirements for certain multiple award contracts, or MACs, and small-business joint ventures.
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Version .6: Another Step on the Department of Defense’s Long and Winding Cybersecurity Road
There’s an often mistranslated Taoist adage that counsels “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So it is presently with the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), which continues its cybersecurity journey with the recently released update of standard CMMC .6.
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Integrating Cybersecurity Into M&A Compliance Reviews: Avoiding Hidden Cyber Risks in the Acquisition of Government Contractors
So you want to acquire a government contractor? Makes sense, and you’re not alone. Over the past few years, the federal contracting landscape continues to evolve as a result of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), primarily involving the acquisition of small and midsize contractors by larger entities as a means to quickly expand into new federal markets. This trend is especially prevalent in the information technology (IT) market, where the acquisition of small or midsize IT firms with new capabilities can provide larger firms with shiny new toys to share with their roster of government clients to gain a larger share of the federal IT “pie,” if not create—almost overnight—new IT market leaders in areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, software, and predictive intelligence.
Guerrillas of the NIST: DOD Re-Attacks Supply Chain and Contractor Cybersecurity (Part II)
As DOD continues to expand its supply chain cybersecurity demands on federal contractors, McCarter & English Government Contracts and Export Controls co-leaders Alex Major and Franklin Turner provide critical guidance for federal contractors in a two-part Feature Comment for Thomson Reuters’ The Government Contractor. In the comprehensive article they address not only the recent and
Guerrillas of the NIST: DOD Re-attacks Supply Chain and Contractor Cybersecurity (Part 1) – The Government Contractor
DoD’s recent efforts to address cybersecurity have caused confusion and chaos for Government contractors. As we all know, cybersecurity is an issue that is impossible to ignore, and the sobering reality is that compliance with federal cybersecurity requirements is critical to avoiding catastrophic liability. Recently, McCarter & English Government Contracts and Export Controls co-leaders Alex
Let Me Clear My Throat: DCAA Course Corrects on “Expressly Unallowable” Costs
Cough…cough…ahem…cough… Any contractor who has had the misfortune of dealing with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) likely knows all too well that the agency is the Will Rogers of costs – it never met a cost it didn’t question. Indeed, DCAA auditors typically question costs with reckless abandon and based often on a patent misreading of applicable regulations. The net effect, of course, is that contractors have to expend significant time and money trying to explain to boards and courts why DCAA’s auditors are…uh…incorrect as a matter of fact and law. A recent Memorandum for Regional Directors (MRD) provides some transparency into why this sort of thing happens with unfortunate regularity. Issued on May 14, 2019, the MRD (No. 19-PAC-002(R)), corrects…er…“revises” internal guidance issued in 2014 and 2015 relating to the identification of expressly unallowable costs. The newly issued memo sets out DCAA’s current stance on identifying expressly unallowable costs under the cost principles codified at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Part 231. This MRD – like all MRDs – is intended to be used as a tool by well-meaning (but often overzealous) auditors when reviewing a contractor’s compliance with federal cost principles. Contractors should, thus, pay careful attention to this MRD in order to be prepared for questions that may arise during DCAA-led frolics and detours.
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Never Stop Never Stopping: Defense Department Quietly Unveils Proposed Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Standards and Confirms the Allowability of Certain Cybersecurity Costs
Cybersecurity. It’s never over, is it? In what can only be described as a “soft” release, the Department of Defense (DoD) has slowly and quietly begun to reveal its intent to provide federal contractors with formal cybersecurity certification as early as next year. The program, known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), is an effort to streamline the acquisition process by providing acquiring agencies and consenting contractors with more exacting cybersecurity requirements for forthcoming acquisitions.
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McCarter Partners Franklin Turner and Alex Major Presented on “Effectively Prosecuting Contract Claims Against the Government” at NHOA Business Summit
On May 22nd, Practice Group Co-Leaders Franklin Turner and Alexander Major delivered a presentation on Effectively Prosecuting Contract Claims Against the Government to attendees at the annual Native Hawaiian Organizations Association Business Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii. After the presentation, Franklin and Alex also hosted a legal Q&A session for contractors of all sizes.