Architect-Engineering Firm Wins GAO Protest Alleging Misevaluation of Qualification Statements under $2 Billion Brooks Act Procurement
Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.11.20
Government procurements for architect-engineering services do not follow the typical Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) rules applied to the purchase of other goods and services. Instead, these services are procured under the authority of the Brooks Act, according to special procedures designed to identify the most qualified firms; specifically, the Two-Phase Design-Build Selection Procedures set forth in FAR subpart 36.3, and Architect-Engineer Services Contract Procedures set forth in FAR subpart 36.6. But those procedures provide no exceptions from bid protest. In the protest of Evergreen JV, B-418475.4, Sept. 23, 2020, the disappointed offeror argued that the Air Force failed to evaluate its qualifications according to the qualitative evaluation criteria identified in the Agency’s synopsis. GAO sustained the protest. For more, click here.
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Client Alert | 7 min read | 08.19.26
CMS’s Final Rule Bans Federal Medicaid Funding for Youth Gender-Affirming Care
On August 13, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its final rule banning the use of federal funds — through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — to pay for gender-affirming care for children and youth. The final rule takes effect October 13, 2026 (“Prohibition on Federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures Furnished to Children”). While CMS finalized several key elements of its late-2025 proposed rule (Client Alert December 24, 2025), the proposed Medicare hospital Condition of Participation rule remains in proposed form.
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Delayed Notification of Cyberattacks May Trigger HIPAA Breach Notification Rule
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License to Hack? The White House Greenlights Private-Sector Offensive Cyber Operations

