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No Summer Break for Cyber: Newly Unveiled CMMC Assessment Process Provides Industry with Upcoming Assessment Insights

Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.01.22

After much anticipation, the Cyber AB, formerly known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Accreditation Body, recently released its pre-decisional draft CMMC Assessment Process (CAP).  The CAP describes the overarching procedures and guidance that CMMC Third-Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAOs) will use to assess entities seeking CMMC certification.  The current version of the CAP applies to contractors requiring CMMC Level 2 certification, which will likely be most contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) based on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) provisional scoping guidance for CMMC 2.0.

Aimed at increasing the accuracy and consistency of assessments conducted by C3PAOs, the CAP is segmented into four distinct phases:

Phase 1:  Plan and Prepare the Assessment;
Phase 2:  Conduct the Assessment;
Phase 3:  Report Assessment Results; and
Phase 4:  Close-Out Plan of Action and Milestones (POAMs) and Assessment.

While the assessment process is still in draft form, DoD contractors should familiarize themselves with the proposed structure and conduct of CMMC assessments, as these parameters will be critical to companies attaining CMMC certification at the level requisite for future government contract awards.

The Cyber AB is currently accepting comments on the draft CAP. 

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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....

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