SBA Cannot Replace Agency Responsibility Findings with Its Own
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.30.11
In Spiral Solutions & Techs., Inc., the Small Business Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) reversed a size decision finding a violation of the ostensible subcontractor rule because the SBA Area Office improperly made findings on matters of responsibility--matters reserved for the contracting officer. Additionally, OHA explained that Spiral’s hiring of its subcontractor’s incumbent, non-management personnel is no longer indicative of “undue reliance” in light of Executive Order 13,495, which encourages companies to offer a right of first refusal of employment to qualified employees performing under a predecessor contract for similar services at a particular location.
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Client Alert | 4 min read | 10.30.26
Recent sustain decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Fluor Federal Solutions, LLC and Reliance Test & Technology send a clear message: when an agency tries to fix a Procurement Integrity Act (PIA) violation by committing a second one, the cure can be just as fatal as the disease. The cases involved the U.S. Air Force’s $1.8 billion procurement for O&M services at Elgin Air Force Base. During discussions, the Air Force inadvertently released a pricing overview slide with all offerors’ bottom-line evaluated costs to Reliance Test & Technology, which immediately notified the agency of the error. In response, the Air Force decided to level the playing field by providing the same information to all the other offerors in the procurement, stating, “[o]fferors may consider this disclosure in their [final proposal revision].”
Client Alert | 3 min read | 10.29.26
What University Licensors Should Learn From TexasLDPC v. Broadcom
Client Alert | 2 min read | 10.28.26
Debriefing to Dead Briefing: How to Avoid Dismissal by Identifying “Required” Debriefings
