The Dog Ate my Addendum: Don’t Neglect your Joint Venture Addendum, says OHA

Spring is upon us, and for many of us, it evokes thoughts of friendly weather, and new life. In the world of federal contracting, new life is often seen through the forming of new joint ventures. As most contractors and readers of this blog know, there are many requirements placed on a joint venture that intends to bid on set-asides, and most deal with the content of a joint venture agreement between the joint venture members. In a recent case, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) reviewed a joint venture agreement and addendums. Through its decision, OHA sent a clear warning to the industry to complete and sign both the joint venture agreement and any addendums, and make sure to have all items completed and signed prior to proposal submission deadlines, at the latest, the date of final proposal revisions.

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Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC’s New Joint Venture Handbook Is Now Available!

We are pleased to announce that our updated Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC GovCon Handbook, on Joint Ventures, is now available! This handbook–complete with all of the SBA’s important changes from the past couple years–was co-authored by me and Nicole Pottroff as well as firm founder Steven Koprince. It is now available through Amazon at this link.

The Joint Venture Handbook is one of our most popular. Joint ventures are a great way for small businesses to partner with other companies and get a competitive edge on federal contracts. But there are many SBA-required components, and SBA is strict in reviewing those compenents.

That’s why the Joint Venture Handbook provides a step-by-step, easy-to-understand method for working through the SBA joint venture process. We hope you find it informative.

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Webinar Event: Catalyst Joint Ventures/Legislative Updates Virtual Workshop, Thursday, September 22, 2:00-4:00pm CDT

Please join us for a very informative webinar hosted by The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship.

Joint ventures can be a powerful tool for multiple businesses to compete for proposals and combine the best capabilities they have to offer. But how do businesses keep their agreements in order? This presentation will address the benefits of a joint venture, including use of past performance and capabilities such as facility clearances. Recent changes to how federal agencies must view past performance from a joint venture are important for contractors to understand. But it will also describe how to make sure a joint venture agreement is compliant with the latest rules and the ones that can trip up offerors. Companies will learn how to advise on the best uses of joint ventures, how to set them up, and how to avoid some traps when creating them. 

Register here. Hope to see you there!

SBA Proposed Rule Relaxes Change of 8(a) Program Ownership, Allows Limited Populated Joint Ventures

The SBA has issued new proposed rules relating to the 8(a) Program. The rules clarify some aspects of ownership and control requirements for the 8(a) Program, including making change of ownership a little easier and cleaning up some 8(a) set-aside processes. The rule would also allow for populated joint ventures between similarly situated joint venture members.

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Open to Interpretation? Don’t Guess if Your Joint Venture Agreement Plays by the Rules

A recent SBA decision showcased the strict manner in which SBA interprets its joint venture agreement rules. After an agency awarded a contract to a joint venture entity, SBA determined the joint venture was ineligible due to fairly small deficiencies in a joint venture agreement. It’s a situation that no federal contractor wants to encounter. SBA requires strict adherence to the requirements that must be contained in nearly all joint venture agreements. Unfortunately, one company learned this lesson the hard way.

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New GovCon Handbook Arriving Soon! Joint Ventures–Updated Edition

We are pleased to announce that, back by popular demand, our updated Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC GovCon Handbook, on Joint Ventures, is coming soon! This handbook–complete with all of the SBA’s important changes from the past couple years–was co-authored by me and Nicole Pottroff as well as firm founder Steven Koprince. It will be published through Amazon in the coming weeks. We’ll provide more updates soon on the publication date and how to reserve an advance copy.

The Joint Venture Handbook is one of our most requested–for good reason. Joint ventures are a powerful tool for small businesses to partner with other companies and enhance their chances of success on federal contracts. But there are a lot of SBA-required components–miss one, and your joint venture might lose out an award.

That’s why the Joint Venture Handbook provides a step-by-step, easy-to-understand method for working through the SBA joint venture process. Stay tuned to SmallGovCon and social media to be updated when the Joint Venture Handbook becomes available.

Looking for the latest government contracting legal news? Sign up here for our free monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook.

Back to Basics: SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program

One of the biggest gamechangers among Federal Contracting programs is the SBA’s Mentor Protégé Program. It provides an avenue for small businesses and large businesses to work together where they otherwise may not have been able to previously, helps federal contractors develop their companies, and can provide protection from affiliation. However, in order for businesses to take advantage of this program, the relationship between the mentor and protégé businesses must meet certain requirements. This entry in SmallGovCon’s Back to Basics series will provide a quick overview of some of the requirements and important areas for contractors to remember if they are considering participating in the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program.

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