Tag Archives: Compliance

“Brand Memo” Prohibits US DOJ From Converting Agency Guidance Into Binding Legal Obligations In Civil Enforcement Actions

Emily TheriaultBy Emily Theriault on Posted in Compliance, False Claims, FCA
On January 25, 2018, Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand issued a memorandum (the “Brand Memo”) limiting the use of agency guidance documents in affirmative civil enforcement cases. The memorandum builds on Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ November 16, 2017 memorandum prohibiting DOJ from promulgating guidance documents that create rights or obligations that are binding on regulated … Continue Reading

Watching the Detectives: The SEC Launches a Dedicated FINRA Oversight Unit

Sarah AbergBy Sarah Aberg on Posted in Compliance, Regulations
The SEC has launched a dedicated team to oversee FINRA, according to remarks by Marc Wyatt, Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”). Congress has vested the SEC with the power to supervise FINRA, including the authority to inspect and examine. The new unit, named FINRA and Securities Industry Oversight (“FISIO”), … Continue Reading

SEC Steps Up Cybersecurity Enforcement with $1 Million Fine Against Morgan Stanley

Jeff KernChristopher BoschBy Jeff Kern and Christopher Bosch on Posted in Compliance, Cybersecurity
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) recent $1 million settlement with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“MSSB”) marked a turning point in the agency’s focus on cybersecurity issues, an area that the agency has proclaimed a top enforcement priority in recent years.  The MSSB settlement addressed various cybersecurity deficiencies that led to the misappropriation of … Continue Reading

Lots of Little Things – FAR Updates from the Federal Acquisition Circular

Townsend BourneDavid GallacherBy Townsend Bourne and David Gallacher on Posted in Changes, Christian Doctrine, Commercial Items, Compliance, Compliance Programs, COTS, DFARS, FAR, Federal Register Update, Government Contracts Law, GSA Schedule, Interim Rule, Micro-Purchase Threshold, Procurement, Regulations, Regulatory Update, Software
Every now and then, the FAR Councils issue a Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) – an update to the Federal Acquisition Regulation implementing a number of changes. Often these changes are rather pro forma. But occasionally, you get a Circular with many different (and interesting) issues. FAC 2005-67, issued in late-June 2013, with rules becoming effective … Continue Reading

Quick on the Trigger – Period for Contractors to Comment on Past Performance Evaluations Will Shrink from 30 Days to 14 Days

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Compliance, Debarment, FAPIIS, Past Performance, Proposed Regulations, Suspension
By David Gallacher  Over the last few years, there has been a significant push to consolidate all contractor information into central locations, and also to ensure that all performance-related information is updated and current (allowing the government customers to have access to the latest and greatest information about how a contractor has performed). Two recent … Continue Reading

Threats and Vulnerabilities – What Every Contractor Should Know About The SBA’s New “Presumed Loss” and “Deemed Certification” Rules

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Compliance, False Claims, FCA, SBA, Set-Aside, Size Standards, Small Business, Subcontracts
By David Gallacher Nearly three years ago, on September 27, 2010, the President signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (“Jobs Act”), which directed the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to implement a variety of small business size and integrity requirements. As noted in our prior blog posting discussing many of these requirements, … Continue Reading

Meaning Of FCPA’s “Foreign Official” Causes Uncertainty For Companies Doing Business Abroad

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Bribery, Gratuities, and Kickbacks, Compliance, FCPA, White Collar
By Alison Kleaver and Joseph Barton One of the goals of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) is to prevent U.S. companies and individuals from paying bribes to foreign officials in exchange for business. To this end, the FCPA prohibits any domestic individual or business entity from making payments to a “foreign official” for the … Continue Reading

Deciphering the Alphabet Soup – FAPIIS, CPARS, and PPIRS; Don’t Look For All This In The FAR

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Compliance, Debarment, FAPIIS, Proposed Regulations, Simplified Acquisition Threshold, Suspension
By Bruce Shirk and David Gallacher In March 2010, the U.S. Government rolled out a new tool promised to provide a centralized source for all publicly available contractor past performance and integrity information – the Federal Performance and Integrity Information System (“FAPIIS”). We have written multiple times about it (in June 2010, March 2011, and … Continue Reading

Preventing Personal Conflicts Of Interest Among Contractor Employees Performing Acquisition Support Services

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Compliance, Compliance Programs, Personal Conflicts of Interest
By Keith Szeliga On December 2, 2011, Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 3.11 – Preventing Personal Conflicts of Interest for Contractor Employees Performing Acquisition Functions — took effect. The new Rule imposes a host of compliance obligations on contractors, including the requirement to screen for and prevent personal conflicts of interest when supporting acquisition functions. The … Continue Reading

Terrorism and Taxes – Proposed FAR Rule Imposes 2% Tax on Foreign Offers to Fund 9/11 Relief Fund

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Compliance, Cost, Cost Accounting, Cost Corner, Cost Principles, Country of Origin, Domestic Preferences, Fixed Price, Foreign Investment, International Contracts, International Procurement, Pricing, Procurement, Proposed Regulations, Proposed Rules, Tax, WTO GPA
By David Gallacher and John Bonn On January 2, 2011, the President signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-347, which set up a relief fund for victims, first responders, and construction workers who were injured in the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. To pay … Continue Reading

The 8(a) Mentor Protégé Program: Opportunities for Large and Small Businesses

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Compliance, Joint Venture, SBA, Set-Aside, Small Business
By Kerry O’Neill Under the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) 8(a) Mentor-Protégé program, large businesses provide various forms of business development assistance to small businesses participants, including, for example, technical and/or management assistance, financial assistance, and assistance in performing prime contracts. The program, whose governing regulations are set out in 13 C.F.R. Part 124, offers substantial … Continue Reading

2011 Year In Review: Export Controls and Promised Reforms

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Commercial Items, Compliance, EAR, Export Controls, ITAR, Legislation
By: David S. Gallacher 2011 was a banner year for U.S. export control laws. The Obama administration has vowed to streamline and reform the bloated U.S. export control system – promising to build "higher walls" around a narrower universe of goods and technologies requiring export licenses. Following is a summary of ten of the key … Continue Reading

The 2011 Bribe Payers Index: Another Important FCPA Compliance Tool

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Bribery, Gratuities, and Kickbacks, Compliance, FCPA
By John M. Hynes On November 1, 2011, Transparency International (“TI”) released its 2011 Bribe Payers Index (“BPI”), which ranks the countries whose companies are most likely to engage in bribery when doing business abroad. The BPI can serve as an important tool for companies in their efforts to avoid violations of the United States Foreign … Continue Reading

Did A Butterfly Just Flap Its Wings?The Potential Industry-Wide Consequences Of The SBA’s Recent Suspension Of A Premier IT Contractor

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Alaska Native Corporation, ANC, Anti-boycott, Compliance, Debarment, FAR 52.203-13, Set-Aside, Small Business, Suspension
By Jonathan S. Aronie There is a theory in physics that a seemingly isolated event in one part of the world can have a significant, downstream impact in another. They (the Physics set) call it the Butterfly Effect. It’s a central element of something called Chaos Theory (referenced by Jeff Goldblum in the original “Jurassic Park”), and you … Continue Reading

What Exactly Is DCAA Thinking?

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Audits, Compliance, Contractor Business Ethics Compliance Program and Disclosure Requirements, Ethics, FAR, GAO, Internal Controls
Recently, contractors have begun receiving formal requests for information from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”). The purported purpose of these requests is to “[o]btain an understanding of the management control environment” of major government contractors. In pursuit of this goal, DCAA has crafted a letter that demands, among other things, the following: A list … Continue Reading

Render Unto Caesar What Is Caesar’s … Or Else: The Expansion of False Claims Act Liability to the Retention of Overpayments

By Sheppard Mullin on Posted in Compliance, Ethics, False Claims, FCA
On May 29, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 ("FERA").[1] FERA implements a number of sweeping changes to the False Claims Act ("FCA"), including a provision that expands significantly the circumstances under which a contractor may be held liable under the so called "reverse false claims" theory.  … Continue Reading
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