Acquisition
Commercial isn't unique
As part of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, Congress established a preference for agencies to buy commercial goods and services instead of governmentunique items whenever feasible.
Digital Government
Good agreement, good team
More often than not, the first thing a company does after becoming interested in a business opportunity is to consider what companies might be added to the team to enhance prospects for winning a contract.
Acquisition
Bargaining at a union shop
Companies that bid to provide services to government agencies generally know they will be required to pay their employees the 'prevailing wages' for the area in which the work is performed
Digital Government
Behind the corporate veil
An important consideration in starting a business is whether to form it as a corporation.
Acquisition
Not so 'reverse' auctions
I've been hearing a lot about the government's various experiments with 'reverse auction' purchasing techniques. In reverse auctions, sellers 'bid' against one another for specific orders by offering successively lower prices until a winner is declared.
Digital Government
The lowdown on privileges
The attorneyclient communication privilege is one of the central tenets of the American legal system
Acquisition
Contracts in fed enclaves
Many contracts with the federal government require that some or all of the work must take place on government property
Digital Government
Fighting computer espionage
In 1996, Congress passed the first federal law making it a crime to steal trade secret information. At the time, the sponsors of the Economic Espionage Act hailed the law as 'a significant bipartisan accomplishment' designed to protect many kinds of confidential information, whether maintained in hard copy or in a computer. However, the act's history shows it as more of a paper tiger than a major accomplishment.
Digital Government
Beware of rotten apples
For at least 20 years, the white- collar criminal defense bar has advised companies to adopt "corporate compliance plans" as a way to insulate themselves from potential liability for the criminal acts of their employees.
People
Feds still legally immune
Every time a government employee makes a decision, there is a good possibility that someone will be unhappy with the result. Often, the party who is disadvantaged by the decision will seek redress from the government employee's agency.
Digital Government
Think before you mail
Can someone who mails a letter reclaim it from the U.S. Postal Service before it is delivered? Or will the letter, once placed into the mail, be delivered to the addressee even if the sender has a change of heart about sending it? This seemingly trivial question can have a surprising importance in the law of contracts.
Digital Government
Piracy on the PCs
The use of unlicensed software is a major problem in the computer trade. According to the Business Software Alliance, software piracy cost the industry $11 billion in 1998.
Digital Government
Ins and outs of the law
I became an inhouse attorney for a major government contractor in Northern Virginia about two months ago after many years as an outside attorney in Washington, D.C.
Digital Government
Mitigate before you litigate
If a party to a contract fails to live up to its commitments, it is in breach of the contract. Generally, the breaching party must compensate the innocent party for any resulting damages it suffers.
Acquisition
The scope of a contract
The following question was raised by a contractor: In deciding whether an existing contract may be modified to include a new item, government contracting officers like to talk about the contract's 'scope.' What makes up the scope of a contract?
Digital Government
Full citations for the cases discussed in "The scope of a contract"
Full citations for the cases discussed in The scope of a contract
Digital Government
Can vendors protest subcontracting decisions?
A company representative asked the following question: When a contracting decision is made by a federal agency, a disappointed offeror may file a bid protest with the General Accounting Office if it thinks that the procurement was conducted improperly. Are subcontracting decisions subject to the same procedures?
Digital Government
What exactly is a pre-award survey?
A reader raised the following topic: Before awarding a new contract, a contracting agency may conduct a preaward survey on the company tentatively selected for the award. How does the preaward survey process relate to the technical evaluations that are done on the competing proposals? What are th
Digital Government
What are the policies of affirmative action?
A company representative asked the following question: Our company started out very small, but we have been growing. The company may have to comply with certain affirmative action requirements as we get larger. What are these requirements? To whom do they apply? All but the smallest government cont
Digital Government
Who is allowed to challenge a sole-source procurement?
A reader raised the following topic: What is the procedure for challenging a proposed solesource acquisition? Who can do so? In general, the rules for challenging a government agency's intended procurement on a solesource basis will be similar to those of any other bid protest. However, as discus
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