Legal Updates

On September 20, 2018, Laura Foster, Of Counsel, with Outlook Law, and Meagan Guerzon , an Attorney Advisor with SBA out of Headquarters, gave a presentation on size protests with the SBA from Area Office to Appeals.  Several people have asked for the slides.  They are here: Navigating Size Protests and Appeals FINAL

In a very recent decision on the False Claims Act (FCA), U.S. ex rel. Rose v. Stephens Institute (Aug. 2018), the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on critical aspects of the FCA; namely, the application of the implied false certification and the materiality standard.  In so doing, the 9th Circuit interpreted the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion on U.S. v. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016), as...

    Outlook Law's Christine V. Williams Named to 2019 Best Lawyers® List  United States, August 15, 2018 -- Outlook Law, LLC, is pleased to announce that Christine V. Williams has been included in the 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal...

When a merger or acquisition deal is occurring and the firms have contracts awarded on SBA eligibility, including size, the present effect rule must be considered.  That rule, if not careful, may have the unintended consequences of rendering firms other than small, or otherwise ineligible, before the ink is even on the paper to close the deal.  That is, SBA has a rule that states, in pertinent...

This is reprinted from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. On August 10, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced two new policy directives focused on ensuring equal employment opportunity and protecting Americans’ religious freedom. The equal employment opportunity directive calls for more comprehensive reviews...

In 2018, SBA restated its position regarding approval and change of management.  That is, SBA stated that prior approval for a change of management is not required.  For the succinct slides on this, please click here: Change in Management_Rev20180615 (002)

Summary of U.S. Senate Small Business Committee Field Hearing   The U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, led by Chairman Risch, with participation by Senators Sullivan and Murkowski, occurred in Anchorage, Alaska on June 29, 2018.  The hearing lasted for over two hours and testimony was given by:  Robb Wong, SBA Associate Administrator for the Government Contracting/Business...

The Senate Small Business Committee will conduct a field hearing on June 29, 2018, in Anchorage, Alaska.  For more information on the location and witnesses, please click on the official link: https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=148B01EB-BD95-447E-BAEE-53073EDA42F3

I wanted to make sure folks received these letters because they were mentioned at the National 8(a) Conference in Anchorage today.  These are the letters secured by Senator Sullivan that correctly interpret the position that the $22 M dollar 8(a) sole source award is not a cap and can be designated for the Justification and Approval Memorandum.  In short, the J&A may be signed by someone...

Outlook Law is pleased to announce that SBA Administrator Linda McMahon appointed Christine V Williams, managing partner of Outlook Law, to the Regulatory Fairness Board.  This is a volunteer position and Christine finds it a singular honor to be asked to serve on behalf of small businesses.   Christine has long been an advocate for small businesses and is consistent in her approaches and...