Tag Archives: Federal government contracting

Webinar! SBA & DoD Mentor-Protégé Program, June 24, 2025, 10:00-11:30am MDT, hosted by Texas El Paso APEX Accelerators

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Touted as a “game-changer” when it was first introduced in 2016, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s All Small Mentor-Protégé Program isn’t new anymore. Known now as simply the “SBA Mentor-Protégé Program,” it is still extremely useful for large and small contractors alike.

Government contracts attorneys John Holtz and Stephanie Ellis of Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC will explain the ins and outs of the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program, covering the program’s eligibility requirements, its potential benefits (including the ability to form special mentor-protégé joint ventures), the application process, and common misconceptions and pitfalls. Additionally,they will provide an introduction to the even older DoD Mentor-Protégé Program, which set the stage for the SBA’s program, and compare the two programs.

Register here.

COFC: Ostensible Subcontractor Rule for General Construction Still Looks at all Circumstances 

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As frequent SmallGovCon readers know, the Small Business Administration’s ostensible subcontractor rule can be tricky to navigate. The rule requires contractors not to rely too heavily on a subcontractor in the performance of a contract set aside under an SBA socioeconomic program, but what constitutes relying too heavily can be confusing for small business contractors. Without a clear measure of how reliant is too reliant, businesses have to worry that they may be denied an award or even worse, lose one in a post-award protest. In a recent decision, Daniels Building Company, Inc. v. United States, 24-1787, 175 Fed. Cl. 767 (2025), the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) provided potentially helpful insight into what SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and the Court of Federal Claims will consider when determining whether a prime contractor is “unusually reliant” on its subcontractor. 

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Switcheroo – FAR Change Allows Agency to Amend Solicitation to Broaden Eligibility for Procurement 

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This past November, we observed a change in the rules regarding SAM registration requirements for procurements. Prior to this rule change, both GAO and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) had found that the FAR requires offerors to maintain SAM registration throughout the evaluation period for a procurement. With the rule change, FAR 52.204-7 (the regulation at issue) now only requires that an offeror be registered at the time of offer submission and at the time of contract award. A lapse in SAM registration in between those events, in other words, would not be fatal to an offeror’s proposal. Unfortunately for one company, this resulted in a COFC case that essentially reversed its victory at a prior COFC protest. Today, we’ll look at this second case and what happened.

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ChatGPT is Not Your Lawyer (Even If it Sounds Like One), Recent GAO Case Confirms

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The world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a growing topic that many are eager to share their opinions on. There are people excited to witness this advancement of technology and are eager to implement AI programs into their lives and/or businesses to optimize efficiency. Others are uneasy about the advancements of AI, fearing replaceability or changes in the workforce. Or, there are those who have read one too many science fiction novels and believe that this is the beginning of the end.  

A recent decision prompted GAO to weigh in on the use of AI in the realm of federal contracting. Specifically, should companies use AI to draft legal pleadings such as bid protests?

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Webinar Announcement! Shaping Opportunities in the New GovCon Climate, May 8, 2025, 11:00am CDT

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Please join Greg Weber and me to discuss how recent executive orders are having an effect on the contracting landscape, and how they interact with important new small business rules and updates, joint venture changes and guidance, and recent cases. This discussion will focus on existing small business and evaluation rules and regulations, and how those fit in with recent orders and reorganization efforts.

Key issues include:

  • Strategic Capabilities to Capacity – Multiple Award Contracts, JV, 8(a) Program, Mentor-Protege, Teaming Arrangrements
  • Strategic Competencies – Past Performance Regulations and Solicitation Language
  • Current Contracts – Bid Protests, Selling SDVOSB, WOSB or other socioeconomic businesses and affect on contracts and proposals

Register here.

Webinar Event! Top 21 Legal Mistakes in Federal Government Contracting, April 9, 2025, 11:00-12:00pm CDT

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Federal contracting rules and laws are complicated, and the rules aren’t always intuitive. Many contractors make legal mistakes routinely, involving everything from completing SAM profiles to calculating small business size to communicating with government contracting officers. Federal government contracts attorneys, Shane McCall & Annie Birney of Koprince McCall Pottroff, will discuss the top 21 most common legal mistakes that contractors make time and time again. You will learn what these common mistakes are and how to avoid them. Please join us for this free webinar hosted by our friends at The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship. Please Register here.

A Look at the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (Part 1)

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The duty of good faith and fair dealing in contract law is, admittedly, a bit poorly named. It does not require that a party act in bad faith to breach it. You do not need to act nefariously to run afoul of it. But then the question arises: What is it? How does one breach it? This was (among other things) a question explored in a recent Court of Federal Claims decision regarding an Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract. We will look at that decision’s review of the duty of good faith and fair dealing here in a 2-part series.

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