Bona Fide Needs with Arnold & Porter and the PubKGroup
Arnold & Porter and the PubKGroup present Bona Fide Needs, a monthly podcast addressing the biggest legal issues facing government contractors and their counsel. Hosted by Arnold & Porter’s Mike McGill and PubK’s Bill Olver, Bona Fide Needs covers the breadth of federal contracting, from contract formation to termination, including bid protests and claims, fraud and compliance, cybersecurity matters, and corporate responsibility and governance.
Episodes
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Ep. 2.08: What Does the FY2024 NDAA Have in Store for Contractors?
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
For more than 60 years, Congress has passed an annual National Defense Authorization Act establishing budget and policy priorities for the Department of Defense. This must-pass legislation often arrives late in the calendar year and laden with new acquisition rules and requirements. Traditionally, this language also spills over to civilian agencies.
In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Policy Advisor Sara Linder, Policy Advisor Yuvaraj Sivalingam, and Senior Policy Specialist Adrienne Jackson examine what contractors can expect from this year's NDAA. They're joined by Arnold and Porter partner and Bona Fide Needs co-host Mike McGill.
0:00 - Introduction0:30 - Headlines0:40 - White House and Congressional News4:00 - False Claims Act Updates9:00 - Cybesecurity News11:25 - Small Business News14:00 - Federal Regulations15:00 - NDAA Discussion1:04:00 - Wrap-up
For links to articles and blog posts discussing the topics in this month's podcast, visit the Pub K Group website.
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Ep. 2.07: Is the False Claims Act Unconstitutional?
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
While the government contracting community had its eyes on the Supreme Court's consideration of the False Claims Act's scienter element, the Justices issued another decision that could have an even more significant impact on the fraud law. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Group Managing Editor Bill Olver speaks with Arnold & Porter Partners Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan about the court's decision in Polansky, as well as some provocative comments in a dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Also in this episode, Bill breaks down recent developments involving the Schutte and Proctor False Claims Act decisions, the Department of Defense's Other Transactions guidance, the White House's plan to implement the National Cybersecurity Strategy, and an important D.C. District Court decision that could alter the way the Small Business Administration calculates total revenues for the purposes of small business set-aside programs.
0:00 - Introduction0:45 - Headlines7:00 - Conversation with Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan19:20 - Conclusion
Show Notes are available at the PubKGroup website.
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Ep. 2.06: Will SCOTUS Unravel the Chevron Deference?
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
In April, the Supreme Court announced it would take up a lawsuit involving the Department of Commerce’s oversight of marine fishing vessels. Of import to federal contractors, the case provides an opportunity for the Justices to examine the 40-year old Chevron deference, and consider whether they should overrule or clarify the previous holding.
In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Group Managing Editor Bill Olver speaks with Arnold & Porter Partner Kristen Ittig, who explains the principles of the Chevron deference, how it is used in court, the current case before the Supreme Court, and how overruling the Chevron case could impact federal contractors.
Also in this episode, Bill breaks down recent developments involving the debt ceiling, the Department of Justice's authority to dismiss qui tam cases, NIST's update to guidance on protecting controlled unclassified information, and changes to SBA's small business regulations.
0:00 - Introduction0:30 - Headlines11:00 - Conversation with Kristen Ittig22:00 - Conclusion
Show notes are available at the Pub K Group website.
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Ep. 2.05: SCOTUS Rejects Safeco Defense. What Does This Mean for FCA Defendants?
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
On June 1, the Supreme Court issued its much-awaited opinion in U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. and U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., handing down a unanimous decision reversing the Seventh Circuit and rejecting the application of Safeco’s “objective reasonableness” standard to the False Claims Act. The decision will have significant ramifications not only for FCA litigation pending in the Seventh Circuit, but in courts across the country, as multiple courts of appeals and district courts had also adopted an “objective reasonableness” requirement.
In this episode, Pub K Group Managing Editor Bill Olver speaks with Arnold & Porter Partners Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan, who discuss what the decision means and its implications for FCA defendants.
0:00 - Introduction3:00 - Reaction to the Decision5:30 - The Key Takeaways from the Decision10:30 - The Effect on Future and Ongoing FCA Litigation18:45 - Advice for Potential FCA Defendants
Show notes are available at the Pub K Group website.
Thursday May 25, 2023
Ep. 2.04: How Contractors Can Prepare for a Default on the Nation’s Debt
Thursday May 25, 2023
Thursday May 25, 2023
The threat of the U.S. government defaulting on its debt is full of uncertainties for federal contractors. These risks include subcontracting disputes and even going out of business if the government deprioritizes payments to government contractors.
In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K's Bill Olver sits down with two attorneys from Arnold & Porter's Government Contract and National Security Group - Keith Feigenbaum and Bryan Williamson - who address the statutory framework of the debt ceiling, the implications of a breach, the likely effect on federal contractors, and many practical recommendations for how contractors can prepare for a breach and respond to any adverse actions.
0:30 - Headlines8:00 - Introduction Keith Feigenbaum and Bryan R. Williamson9:15 - What is the Debt Ceiling? 12:15 - What are the implications of a breach? 16:50 - How will a breach impact federal contractors? 21:00 - What can contractors do to prepare or seek remedy? 31:00 - Acknowledgements
Show notes are available at the Pub K Group website.
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Ep. 2.03: The Supreme Court’s Consideration of the FCA Knowledge Standard
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
On April 18, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Schutte v. SuperValu and Proctor v. Safeway, two qui tam cases raising significant questions about the knowledge standard under the False Claims Act.
Arnold & Porter partners Tirzah Lollar, Craig Margolis, and Christian Sheehan attended the arguments in-person and then provided their real-time insights into the Justices' line of questioning, the parties' responses, and what this may mean for relators and defense counsel.
In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, we present their discussion, with additional contextual comments by Tirzah Lollar.
0:30 - Tirzah's introduction
6:00 - Tirzah, Craig, and Christian's webinar discussion
52:30 - Acknowledgements
For our show notes, visit us at the Pub K Group website.
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Ep 2.02: The Supreme Court Tackles FCA Court Splits
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Managing Editor Bill Olver is joined by Arnold & Porter False Claims Act Practice partners Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan for a discussion about the Department of Justice's reported FCA recoveries for fiscal year 2022, as well as two FCA-related cases before the Supreme Court.
0:25 - Mike's introduction
1:50 - Bill's conversation with Tirzah and Christian
3:45 - FCA recoveries for FY2022
10:30 - Supreme Court consideration of the scienter standard
18:20 - Supreme Court consideration of the government's authority to dismiss qui tam complaints
26:30 - Mike's comments
For our show notes, visit us at the Pub K Group website.
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Ep 2.01: COVID-19 Claims Litigation - What You Should Know
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold & Porter Partner Mike McGill speaks with Arnold & Porter Senior Associate Amanda Sherwood on recent cases addressing contractor relief for the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and unanticipated inflation and Mike summarizes the targeted relief authorized through section 822 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023.
0:00 - Introduction
1:20 - Mike and Amanda's conversation
35:20 - Mike's final comments on the FY2023 NDAA
Show notes available online at the Pub K Group website.
Bona Fide Needs
What government contractors need to know.
Pub K writes the news. Arnold & Porter provides insight and thought leadership.
Headline news, interviews, and in-depth conversations with subject matter experts on the most important developments affecting federal contracting.