The Rise of OTAs in Defense Contracting: Opportunities, Risks, and What Contractors Need to Know
Podcast - Navigating the Updated SF-328 Form
Podcast - A Comparative Guide to Obtaining an FCL: DCSA vs. the Intelligence Community
Diversifying Your Contract Pipeline by Maximizing Opportunities through the DOD’s Mentor Protégé Program
A Comprehensive Overview of FOCI Mitigation
Podcast - Defense Dynamics: Navigating the Post-Election Landscape for the National Security Sector, Part 2
Mitigating FOCI Under Section 847
Episode 345 -- Raytheon Pays $950 Million to Resolve Fraud, FCPA, ITAR and False Claims Act Violations
Everyone Come to Play: Exploring FOCI Mitigation Instruments
Defense Dynamics: Navigating the Post-Election Landscape for the National Security Sector
Podcast - Navigating M&A Due Diligence: Safeguarding Security Clearances
Podcast - Change Condition Packages: Tips for Cleared Contractors
Podcast - Corporate Documents in the Context of Clearances
Navigating Personnel Security Clearances (PCLs)
Cybersecurity Insights: Updates on CMMC Implementation and CUI Identification
What Is an FCL and How Do I Obtain One?
Protecting Our Nation’s Data: Cybersecurity Compliance for Government Contractors
Intellectual Property In Department of Defense Contracting
The When, Where, Why and How of CMMC with Fernando Machado
On July 23, 2025, President Trump released his Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, with the aim of ushering in an era of American dominance in the rapidly emerging technology. The AI Action Plan delivers on a promise...more
The White House recently unveiled “America’s AI Action Plan,” a comprehensive strategy designed to secure United States leadership in the global artificial intelligence race. The plan is built on three foundational pillars:...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has published a July 2025 report entitled Update on Critical Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Uses. House Report 118-121, which accompanied the 2024 DOD appropriations bill (H.R. 4365),...more
On Friday, July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) Public Law No: 119-21 (The OBBB Act). The OBBB Act would provide roughly $156 billion in funding for the Defense Department,...more
The Defense Production Act of 1950 (“DPA”) remains one of the most powerful yet underutilized tools in the federal government’s arsenal for mobilizing private industry during national emergencies. For in-house counsel,...more
Buried toward the bottom of President Trump’s Executive Order, titled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” (the “Order”), is a mandate to identify military programs made more “efficient or lethal if replaced” by unmanned...more
On June 5, 2025, the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the U.S. Congress convened a hearing titled “Barriers to Supply Chain Modernization and Factor Productivity Enhancements.” Throughout the hearing, members and witnesses...more
This week, I discuss with Patricia Underwood, Ph.D., DABT, MBA, Chief Toxicologist, Principal Director – Chemical and Material Risk Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, and my...more
The Department of Defense (DoD) is revving its engines again—this time to rocket past its own software acquisition drag. Launched via an April 24 memo from Acting DoD CIO Katie Arrington, the DoD’s Software Fast Track (SWFT)...more
The Trump Administration recently issued four Executive Orders (EOs) focused on nuclear technologies that, collectively, aim to “unleash the domestic nuclear base,” “reestablish the United States as the global leader in...more
Continuing its efforts under Chairman Brendan Carr’s leadership to safeguard United States communications infrastructure from foreign threats, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopted an Order and...more
On May 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued four Executive Orders – Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security, Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at...more
On May 23, 2025, President Trump signed four Executive Orders intended to expedite the development and deployment of American nuclear technology. The orders would affect the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”), the...more
On May 23, 2025, President Trump issued four executive orders (EOs) as part of the administration’s effort to quadruple U.S. nuclear generating capacity by 2050, promote deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, build out...more
On May 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued a request for information (RFI) to gather information to identify and assess critical applications for DOD and the defense industrial base (DIB) that necessitate...more
President Donald Trump signed four separate executive orders (EOs) on May 23, 2025, intended to result in a quadrupling of U.S. nuclear energy capacity to 400 gigawatts (GW) by 2050, all while strengthening domestic fuel...more
On May 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed four executive orders aimed at revitalizing and accelerating the growth of nuclear energy in the United States. The executive orders direct actions by the Department of Defense...more
Directs the Departments of Defense and Energy to deploy advanced nuclear reactors for critical military and AI infrastructure, starting with operation at a domestic military base by September 30, 2028, and site deployment at...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently issued a memorandum signaling that defense contractors soon will be required to comply with new cybersecurity compliance requirements. The memorandum establishes...more
Recent changes in U.S. trade policy necessitate a thorough understanding of FAR and DFARS clauses related to cost recovery, duties and taxes....more
Three executive orders issued by President Donald Trump in mid-April combat what those orders describe as an unacceptably slow, expensive and bureaucratic process for federal government acquisition in the US, and direct...more
In a decisive move to stay ahead in an era of rapidly evolving digital threats, the Department of Defense (DOD) is accelerating its push for software modernization. The upcoming launch of the Software Fast Track (SWIFT)...more
On April 15, 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD) released official guidance on Organizationally Defined Parameters (ODPs) appearing in the newly published NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3. At the same time, the DoD reaffirmed...more
In the current economic climate, the obvious focus of many companies is on the administration’s imposition of tariffs. However, government contractors, especially those contracting with the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”),...more
At the end of 2024, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) published a plan (“Restoring Freedom’s Forge: American Innovation Unleashed”) and introduced a bill (the Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense Act or FoRGED...more