Greg Jacobs

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What’s the Best Approach to MAS Competition? Strategy.

This post was written by Joelle E.K. Laszlo. Late last summer, we blogged on an interim rule designed to increase competition for multiple-award schedule (“MAS”) contracts issued by civilian government agencies. The interim rule took effect even as the implementing agencies sought comments on its provisions. One year and just seven comments later, the final … Continue Reading

FCA Qui Tam Relator Sanctioned for Destroying Evidence on Company-Issued Laptop

This post was written by Andrew Bernasconi and Nathan Fennessy. In yet another reminder about the importance of maintaining evidence on company-issued laptops, BlackBerrys, or other electronic devices, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California recently sanctioned a qui tam relator for destroying more than 10,000 documents on his company-issued laptop. Moore … Continue Reading

In-House Relator? The 2nd Circuit Considers Whether To Put the False Claims Act Between Attorneys and Their Clients.

This post was written by Matthew R. Sheldon and Alexander Y. Thomas. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing a lower court decision disqualifying a former in-house attorney from acting as a False Claims Act qui tam relator against his former employer. The relator was formerly general counsel to Unilab, a subsidiary of Quest … Continue Reading

Government Contractor Successfully Defends Its Senior Executive Compensation Costs

This post was written by Stephanie E. Giese. The issue of senior executive compensation limits continues to be a contentious one for the federal government and its contractors. This may explain why the limit has not been raised since 2010 from the current amount of $693,951. In fact, the Obama administration has proposed lowering senior … Continue Reading

For Government Contractors, Will 2012 Be the Rise of the “Past Performance Primary POC”?

This post was written by Joelle E.K. Laszlo. If you are a Federal government contractor, please take a moment to recall the name of your “Past Performance Primary POC,” or P4OC for short. [In the unlikely event that this acronym catches on, you saw it here first.] Don’t know who your P4OC is? Don’t have … Continue Reading

Judge Rakoff Rejects the SEC-Citi Settlement, But Is “Truth” Really the Purpose of Any Settlement and Does the SEC Need the Courts to Settle its Cases?

This post was written by Amy J. Greer. Once again, Judge Jed Rakoff has proven to be a thorn in the side of the SEC, rejecting the agency’s $285 million settlement with Citigroup Global Markets. While Judge Rakoff’s opinions are always a good read: sharp, well written, and to the point – and this one … Continue Reading

Small Businesses to Have Larger Role in Big Contracts

This post was written by Gunjan Talati. Earlier this month, the government issued an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement set-aside requirements of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The Small Business Jobs Act amended the Small Business Act to require the government to set aside parts of a multiple-award … Continue Reading

CPSC Stymies Congress

This post was written by Stephen P. Murphy. Manufacturers and importers of children’s products in the United States were emboldened to think that the third party testing burden imposed by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (“CPSIA”) would be reduced by HR 2715, signed into law by the President on August 12, 2011. … Continue Reading

Regulatory Round Up 8.16.11

Election cycle 2012, now featuring the candidate specific Super PAC. I’ve made Clint Eastwood references in these pages before, and while I hate to repeat myself, this article on the DoD Inspector General audit is literally called The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. If the Brookings Institute can’t wrap their collective heads around cloud … Continue Reading

SEC Rejects Proposal by its Enforcement Staff to Settle Landmark ‘Clawback’ Suit

This post was written by James A. Rolfes. Last week, the Washington Post reported the SEC had rejected a proposed settlement of SEC’s landmark case seeking enforcement of the so-called “clawback” of executive compensation under Sarbanes Oxley Section 304. See Hilzenrath, D., Washington Post July 20, 2011, SEC Rejects Proposal. In SEC v. Jenkins, No. … Continue Reading

Sanctions Targets

The last eighteen months have seen numerous new sanctions regimes introduced by the EU, UN and the U.S. Reed Smith has issued a series of Client Alerts already this year as and when new or changed sanctions regimes have been introduced. Amongst the energy and commodity trading and the shipping communities, there has naturally been … Continue Reading

A Route Forward: Easing Licensing Requirements Under the New STA License Exception

This post was written by Joelle E.K. Laszlo.  Research assistance for this post was provided by former Reed Smith Intern Henry R. Barnes. The Export Control Reform Initiative currently underway will transform the cumbersome U.S. export controls regime into a streamlined system featuring a single control list, a single licensing agency, a single information technology system, … Continue Reading

Supreme Court’s Bright Line Test Narrowly Limits Primary Securities Fraud Liability

This post was written by Amy J. Greer. In Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders, 564 U.S. ___ (2011), the United States Supreme Court reversed a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, largely resolving a disagreement among the lower federal courts regarding the level of involvement required … Continue Reading

More than a Pass-Through?: DCAA to Evaluate whether Contractors and Subcontractors “Add Value”

This post was written by Stephanie E. Giese. Contractors for the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as the civilian agencies should expect to start seeing the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”) recommend disallowance of certain contract costs on grounds that a contractor or subcontractor fails to “add value” when it subcontracts out more than … Continue Reading

Unanimous Supreme Court Appears to Hand Investors Big Wins, But Opinions Offer Defendants More Than Rulings Might First Reveal

This post was written by Amy J. Greer. The Supreme Court issued two opinions this term that could dramatically alter the landscape of securities fraud litigation. In Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., et al. v. Siracusano, 563 U.S. ____ (2011), the Court unanimously held that a claim for securities fraud against a drug company may be stated … Continue Reading

Same Stuff, Different Way: New ITAR Rules on Transfers to Dual and Third-Country Nationals Move U.S. Companies into Oversight Role, but Don’t Lighten the Compliance Load

This post was written by Joelle E.K. Laszlo. A relaxation of export controls is not very relaxing when all it really does is shift the majority of the compliance burden from one party to another. But it appears that that will be the result of recent amendments to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) … Continue Reading

The FCA and the TAA: Sounds like an Alphabet Soup BUT All the More Reason to Ensure You Provide End Products Under Government Contracts from Designated Countries

This post was written by Andrew C. Bernasconi. As many government contractors are aware, the Trade Agreements Act (“TAA”) and its implementing regulations generally provide that the government may only acquire end products made in the United States or other “designated countries.” Government contracts frequently incorporate TAA regulations and require contractors to certify that products sold … Continue Reading

Doth Congress Protest Too Much?

This post was written by Amy J. Greer. Just as the SEC and DOJ are basking in the glow of the Rajaratnam guilty verdict, we once again find Congress shaking its finger at the regulators, suggesting that perhaps they’re not doing their job well enough in connection with another insider trading investigation – like somehow … Continue Reading

Iran and Syria Sanctions Update

This post was written by Matthew J. Thomas. US and EU sanctions continue to escalate on Iran and Syria, catching an ever-broadening group of global targets, as detailed in this latest update.  While the EU continues to add dozen of names to its lists of blocked parties, the US today began imposing secondary sanctions on … Continue Reading

SANCTIONS UPDATE

This post was written by Matthew J. Thomas. “Have you seen these new Mideast sanctions? I don’t think we can go ahead with our contracts there. Can we just cancel them?” This common dilemma is at the heart of a new Reed Smith Client Alert discussing the application of sanctions-based contract cancellation clauses. Use of … Continue Reading
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