Latest Analysis
August 11, 2026
Abuse of Discretion: A Maligned and Misunderstood Claim
Abuse of discretion may be one of the most misunderstood claims in federal government contracts law. Contractors and their counsel often treat it as a softened…
Insights.
Latest Note
July 8, 2026
Hamp’s Construction LLC v. Secretary of the Army: Silence is not Representation in Type I Differing Site Conditions Claims
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Hamp’s Construction LLC v. Secretary of the Army, in which the court affirmed an Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals denial…
Latest Alert
June 17, 2026
DoD Misses Section 875 Deadline to Revise the DFARS — There are No Implementing Procedures for 5% Withholding.
Section 875 of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act required the Department of Defense to revise the DFARS by June 16, 2026, to establish procedures…
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Note
Charles M. Olmsted / July 8, 2026
Hamp’s Construction LLC v. Secretary of the Army: Silence is not Representation in Type I Differing Site Conditions Claims
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Hamp’s Construction LLC v. Secretary of the Army, in which the court affirmed an Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals denial of a Type I differing site…
Note
Charles M. Olmsted / June 28, 2026
ASBCA Converts Default to Convenience Termination Where Government Failed to Prove No Reasonable Likelihood of Completion on a Realistic Schedule
In Jaxon Construction, Inc., ASBCA No. 64432 (June 24, 2026)(Rule 12.2, nonprecedential), the ASBCA converted a termination for default to a convenience termination, holding that the government failed to carry its burden…
Note
Justin D. Haselden / June 23, 2026
Administrative False Claims Act Update – What to Know
The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act overhauled the AFCA, increasing maximum liability to $1 million per claim and tapping the Boards of Contract Appeals to provide presiding officers for any…
Note
John Barr / June 15, 2026
FAR 52.222-90 Is Coming to Existing Contracts — Before July 24, 2026.
The FAR Council's April 2026 class deviation implementing EO 14398 puts contractors on a compressed timeline to accept a new FAR clause addressing DEI, with termination for convenience as the stated consequence…
Note
Justin D. Haselden / June 13, 2026
EO 14402 Makes Fixed-Price Contracts the Default Contract Type
Executive Order 14402, signed April 30, 2026, directs executive branch departments and agencies to utilize fixed-price contracts as the default contract type. and requires them to identify and restructure their largest non-FFP…
Note
Charles M. Olmsted / May 19, 2026
When the Awardee Must Move to Intervene — The Federal Circuit’s Decision in Global K9 and What It Means for Incumbent Defense Practice
The Federal Circuit's May 14, 2026 decision in Global K9 Protection Group, LLC v. United States holds that an awardee who tracked the docket of a sealed protest and waited more than…
Note
Stowell Holcomb / May 2, 2026
Silence is not compliance.
The GAO’s April 30, 2026 decision in Exail Inc., B-424225 (Comp. Gen. Apr. 30, 2026), is the kind of decision that looks routine on the surface and rewards a second…
Note
John Barr / May 1, 2026
Federal Circuit Settles the Standard for Challenging a CICA Stay Override
A Federal Circuit ruling makes clear that contractors challenging an agency's override of the CICA automatic stay need only satisfy the APA's arbitrary-and-capricious standard
Note
Justin D. Haselden / April 15, 2026
DEI Enforcement Lands: The IBM Settlement, the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, and FAR 52.222-26.
The DOJ's $17 million settlement with IBM — the first resolution under the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative — is the opening salvo of an active prosecution strategy using False Claims Act enforcement…