Insights

Washington, D.C. – January 13, 2015: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its third annual "Litigation Forecast: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year," and the introduction of its first-ever "Regulatory Forecast 2015: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year."

Washington, D.C. – January 17, 2013: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce it has elected seven attorneys to the firm's partnership effective January 1, 2013. The firm has also promoted three attorneys to the position of senior counsel, and nine associates to the position of counsel. The new partners, senior counsel, and counsel have been promoted from within the ranks of the firm's Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Brussels, and London offices.

On December 19, 2022, DoD issued a DFARS proposed rule that seeks to (1) implement the data-rights portions of the May 2, 2019 Small Business Innovation Research Program and Small Business Technology Transfer Program Policy Directive (SBIR/STTR Policy Directive), and (2) impose significant changes to technical data and computer software marking requirements.  The SBIR/STTR portion of the proposed rule follows DoD’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking issued on August 31, 2020 (see 85 FR 53758) and incorporates the eight written public comments that DoD received. The proposed changes to marking requirements go beyond the SBIR/STTR Policy Directive and respond to the Federal Circuit’s decision in The Boeing Co. v. Secretary of the Air Force, 983 F.3d 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2020).

On June 16, 2016, DoD issued a proposed rule to amend the DFARS to implement section 815 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012, which made significant changes to the data rights scheme for DoD contracts. Among other things, the proposed rule permits the release of “segregation and reintegration” technical data and computer software outside of the government (subject to restrictions), even when the item, component, or process to which that data pertains or the computer software was developed exclusively at private expense; expands DoD’s ability to order technical data and computer software post-award; doubles the time period in which DoD may challenge asserted data rights restrictions; and expressly imposes no time limit on DoD’s right to challenge fraudulently asserted restrictions.

In Deloitte Consulting, LLP (released Jan. 14, 2016), GAO held that, because the awardee’s proposal had taken exception to a solicitation provision that granted the government broader rights in materials (including software source code) than the rights conveyed by the FAR's standard data rights clause, it was unacceptable. This case serves as a reminder that the time for objecting to solicitation provisions, including those relating to technical data and computer software rights, is prior to proposal submission.

Los Angeles-based attorneys, Mark R. Troy, Jeffrey H. Rutherford, and Mana Elihu Lombardo were recognized for one of the Daily Journal's top verdicts of 2014 for their representation of Lockheed Martin in the U.S. ex. rel. Hopper v. Lockheed Martin Corp. case. After a six-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, a jury unanimously found in favor of Lockheed Martin Corporation in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the civil False Claims Act.

Law360 highlights the firm's Government Contracts Group and the recent webinar the Group conducted titled, "What Will the New Year Bring for Government Contractors?" This article details the five issues federal contractors should pay attention to in 2015, as forecasted by Crowell & Moring attorneys in their preview of the year ahead.

There are business opportunities abound in and with the US. You just have to know where to find them and how to navigate through the rules and regulations. Crowell launches a series of webinars in which we will help you to successfully do business in and with the US. Don’t miss out on this series where our practitioners will guide you through the intricate legal landscape to ensure you can establish and conduct your business in a fast and easy way. We will cover what you need to think about before expansion, launching in the US and then ensuring long term success.The topics to be discussed in this series will include:

Please click here for a copy of the presentation. Will it be more of the same for government contractors in 2016 -- increased oversight, intense competition, new regulations, and consolidation? Join the Crowell & Moring team on Thursday, January 14 at 1:00 pm Eastern to find out. Our attorneys will discuss likely trends for the coming year on a variety of topics including cost, commercial items, update on Executive Orders, investigations, compliance, suspension/debarment, GSA and VA schedules, mergers & acquisitions, small business, procurement fraud and so much more.

A one-day webcast featuring analyses and updates of FY15’s most important developments in government contracting, and the outlook for FY16.

This week's episode covers the designation of agency labor advisors, a proposed rule implementing the data rights portions of Small Business Innovation Research Program and Small Business Technology Transfer Program Policy Directive, the dismissal of a challenge to the recent Executive Order and implementing regulation raising the minimum wage for contractors, and the Strengthening VA Cybersecurity Act of 2022, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring's "Fastest 5 Minutes" is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.