This paper, presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2012), attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2013 in U.S. federal procurement. Budgetary and financial insecurity emerge as the most significant emerging issues in government contracting....

In December of 2011, the Parties to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) adopted significant revisions to the Agreement. The revised Agreement comprises (a) a much-needed modernization of the text of the Agreement, (b) an expansion of related market-access...

This review commends The Dream Machine to a broad range of readers, including public contracts attorneys, acquisition policy officials, contracts professionals, program managers, government procurement law students, as well as consumers of military history. It's a remarkable story told with...

In response to NCMA's request that its Board of Advisors explain how we ended up as leaders in contract management, this article offers a rather simple over-arching suggestion for successful professionals and future leaders: look up and around. The article encourages readers to identify mentors,...

This short piece discusses recent (internal) Justice Department guidance for attorneys handling False Claims (FCA) Act cases. In a dramatic policy and practice shift, the memorandum recommends that “when evaluating a recommendation to decline intervention in a qui tam action, attorneys should...

This short piece discusses the congressionally mandated study of bid protests of (or disappointed offeror litigation related to) U.S. defense department procurements. It describes the report, which reflects a serious and objective analysis of some frequently polarizing issues: among other...

This paper/chapter, presented at the Thomson Reuters Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2018), attempts to identify the key evolving trends and issues in U.S. federal procurement for 2018 and beyond. Consistent with prior practice, this chapter offers extensive coverage of...

This Article describes the doctrinal, functional, and moral flaws inherent in the Gulf Coast Recovery Act (GCRA), a United States Senate bill that would provide liability protection to government contractors engaged in disaster relief work in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, as well as...

To the extent that the federal procurement process features prominently in the Government’s plan to slow the pace of, and adapt to the effects of, climate change, this paper attempts to provide some basic building blocks for acquisition professionals to practice sustainable procurement. The...