DoD White Paper Takes Aim at IR&D Costs
Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.01.15
While DOD's August 26 white paper "Enhancing the Effectiveness of Independent Research and Development" explains that the intent of new requirements it announced is "not to reduce the independence of IR&D investment selection, nor to establish a bureaucratic requirement for government approval prior to initiating an IR&D project," contactors have good reason to doubt that assertion. Most significantly for contractors, there will be a new DFARS rule under which, "beginning in FY 2017, DoD will require contractors to record the name of the government party with whom, and date when, a technical interchange took place prior to IR&D project initiation and to provide this information as part of the required IR&D submissions made to [DTIC]," and DCMA and DCAA "will use these DTIC inputs when making allowability determinations for IR&D costs."
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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

