Request For Clarification Amounts To Discussions
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.04.06
In University of Dayton Research Institute (June 15, 2006, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/2969466.pdf), the GAO found that an agency's request for vendors to clarify certain discrepancies in their proposed rate tables constituted discussions because the proposal discrepancies were so material that the agency could not conduct a price evaluation without the clarifications and the corrections resulted in significant changes to the proposed prices. As a consequence, GAO held that the agency was required to conduct meaningful discussions with all offerors in the competitive range, which it had not done with the protester.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26
On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.
Client Alert | 4 min read | 04.14.26
FedRAMP Solicits Public Comment on Overhaul to Incident Communications Procedures
Client Alert | 5 min read | 04.14.26
Client Alert | 4 min read | 04.14.26
