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One-Sided Discussions with the Awardee—the Solution, Not the Problem

Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.18.16

Last month in Caddell Construction v. U.S., the Court of Federal Claims declared the State Department's award of a contract for construction of a new embassy compound in Mozambique null and void and ordered the agency to reopen discussions with only the awardee and to reevaluate the offerors' pricing. In the redacted opinion released on February 10, the Court explained that the unusual remedy of one-sided discussions was appropriate because the agency misled the awardee during discussions into lowering its price when it was already the only price below the Independent Government Estimate and because the awardee would be prejudiced if all offerors were allowed to revise their proposals, given that the misleading discussions affected only the awardee and the award price and IGE had already been publicly disclosed.

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Client Alert | 2 min read | 07.15.26

CMMC Phase II Suspension Requires Reconsideration of Such Requirements in Solicitations

As discussed in more detail here, the U.S. Department of War (DoW) recently issued a memorandum (Memo 26-P-1023, dated July 13, 2026) directing the immediate suspension of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Phase II requirements (Level I and II self assessments are still permitted). Significantly, the memo directs that “all pending and future CMMC implementation milestones across DoW solicitations and contracts are held in abeyance until further notice.” Moreover, the DoW issued a memorandum on implementing these requirements (available here), directing agencies to issue amendments removing CMMC Level 2 and 3 requirements from active solicitations “as soon as practicable.” Contractors should monitor the government’s compliance with this requirement and should be prepared, if needed, to file a bid protest to protect their rights....

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