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NRO Prohibits Exclusive Teaming Agreements

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 06.09.04

The National Reconaissance Office has adopted a clause prohibiting offerors on NRO procurements from entering into exclusive teaming agreements, based upon a determination that "such arrangements unduly limit competition." N15.209-70(i), prescribing N52.215-020, "Exclusive Teaming Prohibition (May 2004)." By contrast, having received comments that it could have the effect of impairing legitimate, pro-competitive teaming arrangements, DOD in April 2002 withdrew a proposed DFAR that would have required contracting personnel to refer to the Justice Department exclusive teaming agreements that they considered to be "anti-competitive," finding that there was no demonstrated need for such a regulation.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26

DOJ’s False Claims Act Resolution Against IBM Signals Heightened Risk for Federal Contractors with DEI Programs

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....