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Unanimous Supreme Court Says Veteran-Owned Small Business Preferences Reign

Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.20.16

On June 16, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court in Kingdomware Techs., Inc. v. U.S. ruled that 38 U.S.C. § 8127 requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to apply the “Rule of Two” and, if met, give preference to veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) when awarding any contract over the dollar thresholds in subsections (b) and (c). The Court soundly rejected both the Federal Circuit’s and the VA’s position that subsection (d)’s prefatory clause somehow relaxed the plain, mandatory language of the clause providing that the preferences “shall” apply, and the VA’s newly (and untimely) raised argument that subsection (d) does not apply to orders under Federal Supply Schedule contracts, setting the stage for a notable increase in awards of VA FSS orders to VOSBs and incentivizing more VOSBs to pursue opportunities with the VA.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 02.13.26

Recent Developments in U.S. Merger Enforcement: HSR Rule Overturned and Leadership Changes at DOJ Antitrust Division

In October 2024, the FTC adopted a final rule that substantially modified the HSR form, requiring new categories of information and documents. The final rule was the most significant overhaul of the HSR premerger notification requirements in decades. The new requirements imposed additional time and expense on merging parties, with the FTC estimating that the new form would likely take triple the amount of time to complete than the previous form. Numerous groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sued to challenge the rule....