DoD Speaks Again on Inflation Defense contractors have been letting DoD acquisition folks know that inflation is impacting their ability to perform firm fixed price contracts.  So, DoD issued another memo advising contracting officers about a “range of approaches” available to contracting officers when it comes to adjusting firm fixed price contracts in response to…

Overview There are times, when a government employee may ask a contractor to provide supplies or services without a contract; to provide supplies and services for free; or to start performance before a contract is signed. Most contractors will do so since they are relying on the guidance of those in the government on how…

Who Am I? A philosophical question that people have asked themselves for centuries is, “Who am I?” A big question that arguably we spend our lives trying to answer but never really get there. A question that is closely related to “Who am I” that you may be asking of your business is, “Am I…

Today I had to deliver unwelcome news to a client – it is costly to do this. There are essentially two buckets of costs when a lawyer delivers unwelcome news: The cost of the lawyer’s time – borne by the client The cost of a broken heart – borne by the lawyer. Read on for…

Defense contracting…not for the faint of heart for a number of reasons.  Two that always jump to my mind: Defense contractors are on the front line of our national security, which if you think about it, it is sobering. ALL – THE – REGULATIONS. Combining these two means that if a defense contractor fails to…

Thoughts of suspension and debarment bring to my mind Bobby Darin’s song, Call Me Irresponsible: Call me irresponsible Yes I’m unreliable Why?  Because acquisition regulations require federal government contractors to be “responsible” businesses and the Uniform Guidance regulations require the same of non-profits and other entities that are awarded federal government cooperative agreements and federal…

Stating the obvious – fixed price contracts, in their essence, are when you agree to perform services or provide goods for a fixed price.  Carrying this through – if cost of performance increases – the contractor cannot increase the price – it’s a fixed price contract.  Similarly, if cost of performance goes down, the government…

The U.S. Government is not known for being agile or innovative.  Its procurement processes and programs are complex with legal requirements that are difficult to identify, understand and follow.  And, generally speaking, the Government has the reputation for not necessarily being interested in innovative ideas.  So, many small, agile, innovative businesses don’t ever think about…