Event: Winning Relationships: Best Practices for Teaming, Mentor-Protégé & Joint Venture Agreements

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You won’t want to miss this free event on Thursday, March 25, 2-4:00pm EDT, hosted by Michelle Gardner-Ince, Director of the Women-Owned Veteran Small Business Initiative (WVOSBI). This session will include a panel discussion by seasoned legal and successful business professionals Jackie Lopez, Sharon Athas Cote, John Devore, and our very own Koprince Law LLC, Managing Partner, Shane McCall.

This panel discussion will allow women business owners the opportunity to address operational, relational and legal best practices in the areas of teaming, mentor-protégé and joint venture agreements as well as proven recommendations for addressing some of the most pervasive problems in developing these types of agreements.

You are invited to join the discussion by registering here.

Event: Special Two-Session 8(a) Course with Jackie Robinson-Burnette

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Mention Jackie Robinson-Burnette to anyone who participated in the 8(a) Program between 2014 and 2017, and you’re sure to get a big smile. As the SBA’s Associate Administrator of 8(a) Business Development, and then the Deputy Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development, Ms. Robinson-Burnette quickly became well-known for working tirelessly on behalf of small businesses, assisting them with a rare blend of knowledge, savvy and empathy.

That is why I am so excited to announce that on April 27 and 28 I will be co-hosting a very special two-day Govology course on the 8(a) Program with the one and only Jackie Robinson-Burnette! Don’t miss this unique chance to learn about 8(a) eligibility, certification growth strategies. To sign up, just click here. See you in April!

GAO: No SBA Certificate of Competency Review Needed for Failure to Adequately Explain Technical Approach

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For small businesses, the SBA’s Certificate of Competency process can offer a powerful “second bite at the apple,” essentially allowing a small business to appeal to the SBA if a procuring agency finds the small business non-responsible.

But the SBA CoC process is limited to findings of non-responsibility under FAR Part 9. As GAO recently held, there is no right to appeal to SBA if the proposal was rejected for failing to adequately explain the small business’s technical approach.

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Koprince Law Discusses Teaming for Federal Contractors on Contracting Officer Podcast

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I’m excited to announce that I am featured on the Contracting Officer Podcast, hosted by Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer! The episode is available here (Apple podcast here) and, in it, I discuss three common forms of contractor relationships: Teaming Agreements, Joint Venture Agreements, and the federal Mentor-Protégé Program. Be sure to check out this episode and the plethora of other podcast topics, helpful to both beginning and experienced federal contractors.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Mar. 8 – Mar. 12, 2021

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Happy Friday, SmallGovCon readers. The new movie Yes Day comes out today: a day where parents let kids be in charge for a day. And yes, we may be doing a similar thing at our house. For federal contractors, it may feel like it is always Yes Day when responding to government requests. But it can help to know just when you have to say yes to the government, and when you don’t have to.

Staying up to date with the latest in federal contracting can help when responding to the government. The updates this week included extension of leave reimbursement for contractors and other benefits for contractors in the latest COVID relief package, a DoD audit report about overpayments to contractors, and list of scams targeting SAM users.

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8(a) Joint Venture Fraud Allegations Lead to False Claims Act Settlement

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The SBA’s joint venture rules can be strict. Mistakes like failing to update a joint venture agreement, inserting ambiguous provisions in a joint venture agreement, or relying on an expired mentor-protege agreement can be costly.

Good faith mistakes are one thing–the joint venture may lose out on a contract, but probably won’t face other penalties. But when the government believes that a contractor knowingly violated the joint venture rules, the repercussions can be much more serious–as seen in a recent False Claims Act settlement involving allegations of fraud under the 8(a) joint venture regulations.

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GAO Finds Agency’s Technical Evaluation Inadequate, but Refuses to Invalidate Award

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Leasing office space in a flood plain seems like a bad idea. Most people want an office with a view, but not a view of their office desk floating down a first-floor hallway. In a recent protest decision, GAO said that the agency failed to adequately document its evaluation, despite its own solicitation requirements.

But even when your protest is sustained, GAO may still recommend the award remain in place. How can that be? Follow along, while I lead you through what you need to know.  

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