Joint Ventures: Is “Unequivocal Control” Required?

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Shane McCall

Fans of the blog know that we’re wild about joint ventures: they allow small business contractors to use their size status while, at the same time, leveraging their joint venture partner’s experience and capabilities.

But joint ventures—particularly joint ventures under one of the SBA’s socioeconomic programs—can be tricky to create. For joint ventures between a small and a large company, the venturers first need an approved mentor-protégé agreement. And regardless, for the joint venture to qualify under a socioeconomic designation, that joint venture must have a compliant agreement.

But that’s still not enough to create a compliant joint venture. As a recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision explains, the small business venturer must unequivocally control the joint venture.

New GovCon Handbook Arriving July 28! Procedures and Pitfalls of Size Protests and Appeals

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Shane McCall

I’m pleased to announce that my forthcoming Koprince Law LLC GovCon Handbook, entitled Procedures and Pitfalls of Size Protests and Appeals, will be published through Amazon on July 28! In addition, I’ll be hosting an accompanying webinar through Koprince Law on August 5.

If you’ve had questions about size protests and appeals, and how to prepare for them, this is the book for you. It will cover the basic (and advanced) strategies and tips that will help your company put itself in the best possible position to file or respond to a size protest. It will also delve into the size appeal process and help you prepare for a size appeal or to respond to one. Be sure to mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details!

SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 22 – June 26, 2020

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Shane McCall

This week, the dust cloud coming to US shores could bring some negative impacts to certain parts of the country, but it could also result in more vivid sunsets and sunrises. There’s often a silver lining but it can take a while to figure out what it is sometimes.

There were also some big impacts and silver linings in the world of federal government contracting this past week. These included an increase in the ceiling of the 8(a) STARS II GWAC, some rumblings from the Pandemic Oversight Committee and how it will track spending, and updates on how the CMMC application process will work for future cyber assessors.

GAO Holds that Protest Was Late Despite Post-Debriefing Questions

Posted on June 24, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

Some contractors mistakenly believe that debriefings or post-debriefing questions always extend the deadline for filing a protest with GAO. In some cases they do, but in others they don’t.

In cases where they don’t, a protester must file its protest within 10 days of knowing the basis for its protest. Otherwise, GAO will dismiss the protest as untimely, without any regards to the protest’s merits.

Clean-Up on Aisle “FAR”: Joint Venture and Subcontracting Plan Rules Get Modernized

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Shane McCall

Joint ventures and small business subcontracting are two issues near and dear to the hearts of many small business federal contractors. Well, the Federal Acquisition Regulation will soon be updated with respect to both of these topics. The new rules will align with SBA’s rules and remove any inconsistencies. Let’s dive in!

SmallGovCon Week In Review: June 15 – June 19, 2020

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Shane McCall

Happy Juneteenth to our SmallGovCon readers! And Happy Father’s Day as well. The next few days can be a time to reflect on the state of our nation. And to say thanks to a father or father figure.

If you need a new podcast to check out, my colleague Haley Claxton was recently featured on an episode of the The Big Bid Theory podcast. The episode just came out and is full of helpful information about set-asides for small business contractors. Give it a listen!

This week saw some interesting federal contracting stories as well, including that the Pentagon wants to give contractors more time to remove Chinese technology from the supply chain, a number of settlements and prosecutions related to contracting fraud, and the SBA announced that it was again opening up its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

Back to Basics: SBA’s OHA Reminds SBA Area Offices How to Apply the Ostensible Subcontractor Rule

Posted on June 18, 2020 by SmallGovCon Contributor

We’ve discussed the “ostensible subcontractor rule” quite a few times on the blog (including most recently here and here) because it is one of the most frequent grounds for size protests. It’s also frequently misunderstood. A recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision, Contego Environmental, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-6054 (May 19, 2020), demonstrates how even SBA Area Offices can misapply the rule and provides useful reminders to contractor looking to avoid violating it.