Author Archives: Shane McCall

SmallGovCon Welcomes Christopher Coleman

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I am pleased to announce that Christopher Coleman has joined our team of government contracts attorney-authors here at SmallGovCon. Christopher is an associate attorney with Koprince Law LLC, where his practice focuses on federal government contracts law.

Before joining our team, Christopher was in private practice and served as an Assistant District Attorney, where he advocated for clients and drafted and edited contracts, agreements, and manuals, developing skills that enable him to to lead clients through the government contracts realm. Check out Christopher’s full biography to learn more about our newest author, and don’t miss his first SmallGovCon post on how to properly protest competitive range decisions.

SBA Eases Lifetime Limit on Mentors

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The SBA has long had a lifetime limit of two mentors for each protégé–and this limit was enforced very strictly. Say the mentor ghosted the protégé, or the two just never did any contracts together. Well, too bad, that still used up one of the two lifetime mentors that a protégé could have.

They say there are no second chances, but the SBA’s new rule will allow for second chances on a mentor protégé arrangement in some circumstances, which should benefit protégés going forward.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: Nov. 2 – Nov. 6, 2020

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Happy Friday, SmallGovCon readers. Even as the votes are sifted, the federal government continues to buy goods and services from contractors. To that end, here are some important updates from the last week.

These include veteran-owned small business trends, the critical role of CUI in federal supply chain security, and and update on the rule banning some Chinese equipment.

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SBA Confirms Mentor can Own 40% of Protégé and Get 60% of Joint Venture Workshare

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The SBA’s recent final rule on Mentor-Protégé Program consolidation included a number of important updates and clarifications. Among these was an explanation of the rules involving a mentor owning part of a protégé while also being part of a joint venture with the same protégé. It’s something I’ve always wanted SBA to confirm, so I’m glad they did.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: Oct. 26 – Oct. 30, 2020

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Happy Halloween, SmallGovCon readers! My kids are definitely excited about Halloween, even though the trick or treating will be a little different than in years past.

But there is more to be excited about. Next week is National Veteran Owned Small Business Week. Check out SBA’s events and resources for more information, and join us in celebrating the many veteran-owned small businesses around the country.

This week saw a number of important stories, ranging from an idea for a new set-aside category for federal contracts, an update on SBA’s lending in 2020, and a number of enforcement actions involving federal contracting fraud. Read on for more updates.

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SBA Rule Tamps Down Joint Venture Unequivocal Control Requirement

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The SBA’s new rule on Consolidation of Mentor-Protégé Programs contained a lot of updates. One of those concerned the level of control that a lead joint venture member has to have over a joint venture.

In particular, SBA now says that the lead venturer doesn’t have to have unequivocal control as the Office of Hearings and Appeals had suggested in the past. The other joint venture partners can have some say in the joint venture, but how much?

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