Tag Archives: teaming agreements

Event: Small Business Teaming Success Workshop

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If you are interested in small business teaming, and located in the Pacific Northwest (or plan to be), please join me and other presenters on May 3, 2013 for a free all-day workshop designed to give small contractors an in-depth look at teaming, joint venturing and subcontracting on federal procurements.

I will offer two sessions during the workshop: “Legal Aspects of Teaming and Government Contracting” and “Compliant and Effective Teaming Documents.”  Other sessions will include “Introduction to Teaming,” “To Bid or Not To Bid,” and “Proposal Writing in the Teaming Environment.”

The workshop will be held in Oregon City, Oregon (near Portland) and is sponsored by two great organizations, Powering Up! Small Business Teams and the Clackamas Small  Business Development Center. Visit the workshop’s registration page to sign up.  I hope to see you there!

Free Webinar: Teaming Agreements and Joint Venture Agreements

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Interested in creating compliant and effective joint venture agreements, teaming agreements, and subcontracts?  Join me this Friday, March 15, for a free webinar sponsored by Powering Up! Small Business Teams.

The webinar will cover mandatory provisions to include in joint venture agreements under the 8(a), WOSB and SDVOSB programs, required subcontract “flow downs” and other small business teaming requirements.  In addition, we will go beyond the minimum legal requirements and discuss best practices for thorough and effective teaming documents–topics such as dispute resolution, termination, exclusivity, non-disclosure of confidential information, and more.

To register for Friday’s free webinar, or find out more information, visit the webinar’s registration page.  And if you’re interested in learning more about the ins and outs of small business teaming, mark your calendar for the upcoming teaming webinars in the Powering Up! webinar series.

Ostensible Subcontractor Rule: Lessons Learned From SBA OHA

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Avoiding affiliation under the SBA’s ostensible subcontractor rule can be difficult, especially since the ostensible subcontractor rule itself, 13 C.F.R. § 121.103(h)(4), does not provide many examples of the factors that may cause ostensible subcontractor affiliation.

A recent decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals, Size Appeal of InGenesis, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5436 (2013), demonstrates that even when a proposed subcontractor will play a major role in the procurement, ostensible subcontractor affiliation may be avoided if the parties carefully structure their relationship.

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Ostensible Subcontractor Rule: SBA 8(a) Mentor-Protege “Shield” Does Not Apply

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The SBA 8(a) mentor-protege affiliation “shield” does not prevent a mentor and protege from being affiliated under the so-called ostensible subcontractor rule, according to a recent decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.

In Size Appeal of InGenesis, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5436 (2013), SBA OHA held that the broad exception from affiliation for 8(a) proteges and their mentors does not prevent the SBA from deeming the companies affiliated under the ostensible subcontractor rule.

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GAO: Ostensible Subcontractor Rule Not Part of Set-Aside Decision

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When deciding whether to set aside a solicitation for small businesses, procuring agencies need not consider whether prospective small business offerors can perform the contract without violating the SBA’s ostensible subcontractor rule.

This was the ruling of the GAO in a recent bid protest decision, in which the GAO held that a procuring agency had properly set aside a contract for small businesses without prior consideration of the ostensible subcontractor rule.  The GAO’s decision aligns with the one discussed in yesterday’s post, in which the GAO held that an a procuring agency need not consider the individual capabilities of potential small business offerors to meet all solicitation requirements before setting aside a solicitation.

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No SBA Prior Approval of Teaming Agreement Leads to 8(a) Program Termination

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In a case that ought to make 8(a) participants sit up and take notice, an 8(a) company was terminated from the 8(a) program for failing to obtain the SBA’s prior approval of its teaming agreement for an 8(a) contract–and the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals upheld the termination.

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Teaming Agreements and Proprietary Information: A Cautionary Tale

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Are you taking adequate steps to protect your proprietary and confidential information from misuse by teammates?

If your teaming agreement or non-disclosure agreement requires you to mark proprietary information with a “protected” legend, the answer may be “no.”  Although many standard teaming agreements and non-disclosure agreements require protective legends in order to protect confidential information, contractors sometimes fail to apply the appropriate legend.  And when that happens, at least according to a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the contractor may have no basis to complain that the teammate stole its confidential information.

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