This month, SBA issued a final rule updating its size standards for multiple NAICS codes in the manufacturing industries and industries with employee-based size standards in other sectors (except wholesale trade and retail trade). As the final rule explains in great detail, SBA increased some of the NAICS code’s size standards and retained others. Additionally, SBA decided to retain an employee based size standard for the nonmanufacturer rule. Let’s take a closer look.
Continue readingAuthor Archives: Nicole Pottroff
Congressional Research Service Report Discusses Emergency-Related Acquisition Flexibilities, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
This Congressional report, issued December 27, 2022, provides a “discussion of acquisition flexibilities federal agencies may use to facilitate the government’s response to and recovery from disasters and emergencies.” The report explains the various types of flexibilities and some of the pros and cons of each. And it concludes by identifying several significant issues related to these acquisition flexibilities. Let’s take a look.
Continue readingFinal FAR Amendment Encourages Procuring Agencies to Engage with Industry
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule that amends the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), effectively implementing a provision of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. The rule permits and encourages agency acquisition personnel to engage in responsible and constructive exchanges with the industry, provided that such exchanges remain consistent with the applicable law and refrain from promoting any unfair competitive advantages.
Continue readingAgencies Do Not Have Unlimited Discretion to Cancel Solicitations, Says the COFC
In its recent decision, the Court of Federal Claims decided whether and when an agency can cancel a FAR part 15 procurement and start from scratch. Agencies have historically been afforded extremely broad discretion in cancelling solicitations. But in this case, the court agreed with the protester that cancellation was wrongful. It also laid out the details of a proper versus improper solicitation cancellation quite nicely. Thus, this landmark decision provides crucial guidance on the subject for agencies and federal contractors alike.
Continue readingWho You Gonna Call? Your Contracting Officer (Part 3)
In our line of work, we regularly litigate protests, claims, appeals, etc., against the Government. But often, procuring and contracting issues can be resolved without the need for litigation–via a little-known method we like to call “talking things out with your CO.” There are also some important things to keep in mind regarding contract performance communications. This article is the last of three articles aimed at providing helpful tips for communicating with your contracting officer. Part 1, which focused on pre-solicitation and solicitation communications, can be found here. And Part 2, which focused on proposal submission communications, can be found here. This article will focus on contract performance communications.
Continue readingWho You Gonna Call? Your Contracting Officer (Part 2)
In our line of work, we regularly litigate protests, claims, appeals, etc., against the Government. But often, procuring and contracting issues can be resolved without the need for litigation–via a little-known method we like to call “talking things out with your CO.” There are also some important things to keep in mind regarding communications with your contracting officer during the proposal submission process. This article is the second of three articles aimed at providing helpful tips for communicating with your contracting officer. Part 1, which focused on pre-solicitation and solicitation communications, can be found here. This article will focus on proposal submission communications. And the third will focus on contract performance communications.
Continue readingKoprince McCall Pottroff LLC Names John Holtz New Senior Associate Attorney!
Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC, a boutique federal government contracts firm in Lawrence, Kansas, is pleased to announce that John Holtz has been promoted to the role of Senior Associate Attorney.
Since his time with the firm began, John has excelled at providing the highest quality service and counsel as a federal government contracting attorney. “I am both deeply appreciative and excited to work with this firm in an elevated capacity. I look forward to this new role and providing even greater services for our clients,” John says.
John has been practicing since 2016, and his previous experience lent itself well to working in federal contracting legal matters. With Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC, John has been part of numerous successful bid protests, size appeals, and government contract disputes. He is passionate about getting clients the best results and always goes above and beyond for each one–be it for a minor drafting question or a Court of Federal Claims case. John has also been a regular contributor to the firm’s well-known blog, SmallGovCon.com, and has participated in numerous webinars and presentations sharing his knowledge and passion with others. Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC is excited to announce this news and to see all that the future holds for John in his new role.
John Holtz can be reached at: jholtz@koprince.com