NISPOM Revised to Incorporate DSS and GCA Requirements
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.08.18
On August 1, 2018, DoD published the National Industrial Security Program: Industrial Security Procedures for Government Activities (“Volume 2”), which finally replaces the 1985 Industrial Security Regulation much as the original National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) had replaced the Industrial Security Manual applicable to contractors. Volume 2 prescribes security practices applicable to U.S. government activities and includes an extended discussion of facility security clearances (FCLs), including examples of documentation that sponsoring agencies can use to justify an FCL, an exception for continued FCL processing even if it cannot be completed in time to qualify the company for participation in a procurement action, and uniform criteria for identification of key management personnel for various business structures. Volume 2 also establishes detailed procedures for DSS oversight of contractor investigations of compromised information, DSS processing of limited access authorization, and DSS requirements for international security programs including foreign government and contractor access to U.S. classified information.
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Client Alert | 5 min read | 12.12.25
Eleventh Circuit Hears Argument on False Claims Act Qui Tam Constitutionality
On the morning of December 12, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. 2025). This case concerns the constitutionality of the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions and a groundbreaking September 2024 opinion in which the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the FCA’s qui tam provisions were unconstitutional under Article II. See United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Fla. Med. Assocs., LLC, 751 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2024). That decision, penned by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was the first success story for a legal theory that has been gaining steam ever since Justices Thomas, Barrett, and Kavanaugh indicated they would be willing to consider arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 599 U.S. 419 (2023). In her opinion, Judge Mizelle held (1) qui tam relators are officers of the U.S. who must be appointed under the Appointments Clause; and (2) historical practice treating qui tam and similar relators as less than “officers” for constitutional purposes was not enough to save the qui tam provisions from the fundamental Article II infirmity the court identified. That ruling was appealed and, after full briefing, including by the government and a bevy of amici, the litigants stepped up to the plate this morning for oral argument.
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.11.25
Director Squires Revamps the Workings of the U.S. Patent Office
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.10.25
Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright for Applied Art
Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.10.25
Federal Court Strikes Down Interior Order Suspending Wind Energy Development
