1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |Equal Treatment Applies Even If Minimum Discussions Threshold Met

Equal Treatment Applies Even If Minimum Discussions Threshold Met

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.06.10

In AMEC Earth & Envtl., Inc. (Dec. 22, 2009), GAO sustained a protest of a contract award by the Coast Guard for construction services because the agency had engaged in unequal discussions. GAO concluded that, while FAR § 15.306 establishes that the agency must, at a minimum, address "significant weakness and deficiencies" during discussions, if the agency opts to conduct broader discussions than the minimum, it must do so in an equal fashion and may not rely on the minimum threshold in the FAR to excuse disparate treatment.

Contacts

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 03.12.26

DOJ Releases First-Ever Department-Wide Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy

On March 10, 2026, the Department of Justice released the first-ever Department-wide Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (the “Department-wide CEP” or “Policy”), which applies to all non-antitrust corporate criminal cases across the Department. The new policy has been anticipated since December 2025, when Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the Department’s plans to release a new, single corporate enforcement policy for all criminal matters. According to the Department, the new policy is designed to “help ensure consistency across the Department” and “transparently describe the Department’s policies and decisionmaking.”...