Happy Anniversary, SDVOSBs: The Supreme Court’s Kingdomware Decision Was Five Years Ago Today

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Steven Koprince

For SDVOSBs and VOSBs, June 16, 2016 was a monumental day. That morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision in Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States, holding that the VA must follow the law by putting “veterans first” in VA contracting.

Koprince Law LLC was honored to submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting Kingdomware, and my colleagues and I were thrilled with the Court’s 8-0 decision. Click here to check out my post from June 16, 2016 proclaiming “Victory!” for SDVOSBs and VOSBs in this watershed case.

The Kingdomware decision didn’t (and couldn’t) solve every problem that some SDVOSBs and VOSBs have had with VA’s contracting practices, but five years later there is no doubt in my mind that the Court’s decision has been the driving force behind a large increase in VA’s SDVOSB and VOSB contracting. Happy anniversary!

Five Things You Should Know: GAO Bid Protest Interventions

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Shane McCall

Intervening in a GAO bid protest can be an important way to protect a federal contractor’s award. But when can you and should you intervene? Here’s how this might come up. As a federal contractor, you work hard to submit the best proposal you can, and then find out you win the award. A few days after, you find out you’ve been protested as part of a GAO bid protest. What are your options for responding to such a protest? Below, I’ll discuss the five things you should know about intervening in a GAO bid protest.

GAO Seeking Feedback from 8(a) Firms

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Nicole Pottroff

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has offered participants in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program the opportunity to tell Congress about their views and experience in the program.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: June 7-June 11, 2021

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! It’s been a busy week in federal government contracting news. Among the notable announcements, Federal agencies are staffing up and a new IRS web app has been announced. The Treasury Department laid out its updated vision for its financial management shared services offerings and some companies are considering opting out of working with the Defense Department because of the cost of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

Have a great weekend.

Recent Task Force Meeting Underscores Challenges Facing SDVOSB Transfer from VA to SBA

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Christopher Coleman

Sometimes, task force meetings are held just for the sake of having meetings. However, on June 2^nd and 3^rd the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development (IATF) and Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs (ACVBA) met to discuss important issues facing small businesses. This shed much needed light on the issues fast approaching and what steps the SBA needs to take.

The main topic of discussion was the pending CVE transfer. The transfer, as I soon found out, is deceptively complex. In a separate point, SBA noted that the Biden Administration announced it will use the purchase power of the federal government to make more awards to disadvantaged businesses, raising the target from 5% to 10%.

The star of the show, however, was the CVE transfer. So, what does this mean for you?

GAO Considers Receipt of Email During Regular Business Hours Adequate Notice

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Kevin Wickliffe

A recent GAO decision provides a costly lesson about the importance of having internal procedures to receive and respond to official e-mail communications when a company team member is unavailable. The stakes can be big–GAO recently dismissed a contractor’s protest challenging the Department of State’s decision to cancel a solicitation. The question in this matter revolved around when a party is deemed to have received constructive notice of an agency’s cancellation of a solicitation.

Koprince Law Welcomes Kevin Wickliffe

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Shane McCall

We are pleased to announce that Kevin Wickliffe has joined our team of government contracts attorney-authors here at Koprince Law. Before joining our team, Kevin served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at a federally registered institutional, manager-of-managers, investment adviser. His combined regulatory compliance, business, and legal experience give him a unique perspective in providing legal assistance on transactional matters and in interpreting the government’s complex rules and regulations. Check out Kevin’s full biography to learn more about our newest attorney, and don’t miss his first SmallGovCon post concerning email notice for bid protests.