Bona Fide Needs with Arnold & Porter and the PubKGroup

The False Claims Act is the government's primary tool for redressing fraud against the United States. A party violates the Act when they knowingly submit a false claim for payment to the government. If a party is found to have violated the False Claims Act, they could be liable for significant treble damages and civil fines. Needless to say, government contractors, who regularly submit claims for...

The Trump administration has issued over 80 executive orders, directing agencies to freeze funding on contracts and grants. This has resulted in stop work orders and terminations, leaving contractors and grantees in limbo. While these executive orders have affected all contractors and grantees, they have a potentially pernicious effect on nonprofits. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs,  Kristen It...

Every year Congress must pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA adjusts DoD budget priorities based on what's happening around the world and current military needs. Thus, the NDAA is a guide to the issues that will impact defense contracting in the coming year. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Marne Marotta , Adrienne Jackson , and Sara Linder of Arnold & Porter discus...

Last month, Congress began considering the American Privacy Rights Act, or the APRA. The bill has rare bipartisan support and could pass this year.  If Congress enacts the APRA, it will establish the first national privacy and data security standard for the United States.   In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Ron Lee , Amy Davenport , James Courtney , and Jami Vibbert from Arnold & Porter disc...

Enacted in 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act is intended to reduce illicit activity, including tax fraud, money laundering, and the funding of terrorist activity.  What does this mean for government contractors?  In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, co-host Mike McGill sits down with his Arnold & Porter colleague Naomi Hartman , a partner in the firm's corporate and finance practice group. M...

The Department of Justice has released its report on False Claims Act enforcement for fiscal year 2023. Did recoveries increase? What's the story behind the numbers? In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Group Managing Editor Bill Olver speaks with Arnold & Porter Partners Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan about DOJ's FCA recoveries, as well as developments following the Supreme Court's...

Each year, Congress takes up the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets out budget and policy priorities for the Department of Defense. This bill is one of very few pieces of legislation that must pass every year. In this episode, defense and policy experts from Arnold and Porter discuss the passage of this year's NDAA and some important policy considerations for defense contractors. The f...

At the end of December, the Department of Defense published its proposed rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. This long-anticipated issuance answered many - but not all - of the questions about how the department will implement the program. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold and Porter's Ronald Lee and Tom Pettit discuss the proposed rule and address some of th...

What's in store for contractors in 2024? Arnold & Porter legal and policy experts pull out their crystal ball to forecast developments in many important topics. Christian Sheehan and Jayce Born on False Claims Act constitutionality Ron Lee on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification implementing regulations Tom Pettit on a recent proposed rule on cyber incident reporting and information...

In Ultima Services v. the Department of Agriculture, a federal district court held that the Small Business Administration’s reliance on the rebuttable presumption of disadvantage for its 8(a) business development program violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection clause. That decision created a cascade of developments, as SBA froze new 8(a) applications, and then issued clarifying guidan...

After weeks of drama and legislative inaction, the House of Representatives finally has a new speaker as Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana unexpectedly rose to the highest office in the chamber. As Congress faces fast-approaching deadlines for FY2024 appropriations and the National Defense Authorization act, how will Speaker Johnson move this must-pass legislation through a contentious Hous...

As we approach the end of fiscal year 2023, Washington is once again facing down the prospect of a government shutdown at midnight on Saturday, September 30th. There’s a growing consensus among veteran Congress-watchers that a shutdown is inevitable. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Policy Advisor Sara Linder, Partner Chuck Blanchard, and Partner Josh Alloy join Arnold and P...

For more than 60 years, Congress has passed an annual National Defense Authorization Act establishing budget and policy priorities for the Department of Defense. This must-pass legislation often arrives late in the calendar year and laden with new acquisition rules and requirements. Traditionally, this language also spills over to civilian agencies. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold &...

While the government contracting community had its eyes on the Supreme Court's consideration of the False Claims Act's scienter element, the Justices issued another decision that could have an even more significant impact on the fraud law. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Group Managing Editor Bill Olver speaks with Arnold & Porter Partners Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan about th...

In April, the Supreme Court announced it would take up a lawsuit involving the Department of Commerce’s oversight of marine fishing vessels. Of import to federal contractors, the case provides an opportunity for the Justices to examine the 40-year old Chevron deference, and consider whether they should overrule or clarify the previous holding. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Group Managi...

On June 1, the Supreme Court issued its much-awaited opinion in U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. and U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., handing down a unanimous decision reversing the Seventh Circuit and rejecting the application of Safeco’s “objective reasonableness” standard to the False Claims Act. The decision will have significant ramifications not only for FCA litigation pending i...

The threat of the U.S. government defaulting on its debt is full of uncertainties for federal contractors. These risks include subcontracting disputes and even going out of business if the government deprioritizes payments to government contractors. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K's Bill Olver sits down with two attorneys from Arnold & Porter's Government Contract and National Security G...

On April 18, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Schutte v. SuperValu and Proctor v. Safeway, two qui tam cases raising significant questions about the knowledge standard under the False Claims Act.  Arnold & Porter partners Tirzah Lollar, Craig Margolis, and Christian Sheehan attended the arguments in-person and then provided their real-time insights into the Justices' line of questioning,...

In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Managing Editor Bill Olver is joined by Arnold & Porter False Claims Act Practice partners Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan for a discussion about the Department of Justice's reported FCA recoveries for fiscal year 2022, as well as two FCA-related cases before the Supreme Court. 0:25 - Mike's introduction 1:50 - Bill's conversation with Tirzah and Chris...

In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Partner Mike McGill speaks with Arnold & Porter Senior Associate Amanda Sherwood on recent cases addressing contractor relief for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and unanticipated inflation and Mike summarizes the targeted relief authorized through section 822 of the  National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023.  0:00 - Introduction 1:20...

In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Partner Mike McGill and PilieroMazza Partner Nichole Atallah preview the Labor & Employment panel from Pub K's upcoming 2023 Annual Review. From January 9 - 12, three dozen top government contracting practitioners will break down the most important and intriguing developments affecting federal contractors and their counsel. Government officials,...

In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Partners Mike McGill and Craig Holman  preview the Bid Protest panel from Pub K's upcoming 2023 Annual Review. From January 9 - 12, three dozen top government contracting practitioners will break down the most important and intriguing developments affecting federal contractors and their counsel. Government officials, private sector attorneys, and...

In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Partner Mike McGill and PubKGroup President Alan Chvotkin preview Pub K's upcoming 2023 Annual Review.  From January 9 - 12, three dozen top government contracting practitioners will break down the most important and intriguing developments affecting federal contractors and their counsel. Government officials, private sector attorneys, and in-hou...

In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Partner Mike McGill and PubKGroup Managing Editor Bill Olver cover a broad range of recent legal developments affecting government contractors. Our feature this month is Mike’s in-depth discussion with Arnold & Porter partner Chuck Blanchard, who previously served as general counsel of the Air Force and earlier the Army. Mike and Chuck discuss a...

In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Partner Mike McGill and PubKGroup Managing Editor Bill Olver cover a broad range of recent legal developments affecting government contractors. Our headline feature this month is Mike’s broad discussion with Arnold & Porter partner Judah Prero on the interplay between the regulation of the chemical PFAS and federal procurement, which is part of t...