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
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
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
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
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
This post was written by Amy J. Greer. The latest account intrusion case brought by the SEC had all of the usual hallmarks: a foreign national; hacking into accounts; and trading long distance. But this newest case revealed a potentially more dangerous threat: unfettered and direct access to the markets by those out to commit … Continue Reading
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
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
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
Did you hear that the U.S. sanctioned a company that doesn’t exist? Of course you did, it was kind of a big deal. But in case you didn’t and wanted to sound current in your legal circles. Some people like to claim that higher education is a racket. Turns out some if it is. A … Continue Reading
We’ve written before on the new sanctions regimes introduced by the EU, UN and the U.S (link to past blog). This is an update on sanctions imposed against Libya and Syria. Attached to this briefing is an updated table of sanctions targets. To view the entire alert please click here.… Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
This post was written by Amy J. Greer. While some have suggested that Morgan Stanley’s announcement this week that it will permit its financial advisors to take some tentative first steps into the world of social media is nothing but a big yawn, given how fraught the social media world is with potential regulatory land … Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
