Protecting Our Nation’s Data: Cybersecurity Compliance for Government Contractors
Intellectual Property In Department of Defense Contracting
Additional Compensation from the Government: A Brief Comparison of REAs and Claims
Webinar: Trademarks and Government Contracting
Buy American: What Government Contractors Need to Know
Federal Contracting Overseas: Insider Tips for Ensuring Compliance with Host Country Laws
Navigating the FAR/DFARS: The Most Confusing and Little Known Clauses
Government Contracts Cyber Café: 2019 Wrap Up and Privacy, CMMC, and GRC in 2020
The Government Contracts Cyber Café: Recent Developments Update
Government Contracts Cyber Café Series: An Inside Look at DFARS Compliance Data
Government Contracts Cyber Café - Crisis Management: Beyond Compliance
Federal Cybersecurity Requirements
Earlier this year, the Department of Defense (DoD) published an “Intellectual Property Guidebook for DoD Acquisition.” It is the culmination of many years of work and the most insightful data rights guidance out of the...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 celebration of the release of the 6th Edition of the Government Contracts Compliance Handbook, we are sharing six essential tips for avoiding product substitution issues in government contracting. Product substitution is...more
The aerospace and defense industry is facing a rapidly shifting legal landscape in 2025, shaped by regulatory updates, enforcement trends, and geopolitical considerations. With increased scrutiny on foreign investments,...more
There is no law or regulation instructing contractors how to mark commercial technical data delivered to the Department of Defense (DoD). Yet the DoD Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) is quite clear that...more
As the Trump administration continues to eliminate federal positions and reduce contract and grant outlays, many private companies will likely be eyeing current and former government employees for employment over the coming...more
To kick off the new year, this bid protest spotlight highlights two U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions involving System for Award Management (SAM) registration requirements when submitting an “offer” and an...more
On January 15, 2025, the FAR Council finally released a proposed rule (the Rule)1 regulating the use and handling of controlled unclassified information (CUI) as a part of the general strategy to reduce threats of...more
The wait is finally over! After more than 14 years of anticipation, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Proposed Rule on Controlled Unclassified Information (“CUI”) was released on January 15, 2025 and comes as part of...more
As of January 17, 2025, the Department of Defense’s data rights regulations and contract clauses look a little different, yet substantively very little has changed. The update is to formally incorporate changes the Small...more
FY2025 NDAA: Significant Impacts on Small and Large Defense Contractors - The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025 NDAA), signed into law on December...more
On January 15, 2025, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (collectively, “the FAR Council”) issued a long-anticipated proposed...more
After years of anticipation, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council has announced the arrival of its proposed rule to enhance the safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in federal contracts (the...more
On December 23, 2024, President Biden signed the Source Code Harmonization and Reuse in Information Technology Act (“SHARE IT Act” or “the Act”), which provides a formal mechanism for federal agencies to store and share...more
To kick off the New Year (and as is now tradition, since we put out a similar Recap & Forecast last year), Sheppard Mullin’s Governmental Practice Cybersecurity & Data Protection Team has prepared a cybersecurity-focused 2024...more
Note to research compliance officials still digesting news of Pennsylvania State’s recent $1.25 million settlement over False Claims Act (FCA) allegations related to cybersecurity and the government’s recent intervention in a...more
On October 15, 2024, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) released its final rule (the “Final Rule”) formally establishing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) program, nearly three years after first...more
After numerous fits and starts, on October 14, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a final rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. Borne from documented deficiencies in the...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) secured another win for its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative last week when it resolved a False Claims Act (FCA) action[1] alleging Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) failed to comply with...more
Less than 10 months after the issuance of its proposed rule, DoD has issued this final rule establishing the CMMC program. DoD’s issuance of the final rule demonstrates the government’s continued commitment to...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has published a Final Rule to implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, which establishes minimum cybersecurity requirements for nearly all DOD contracts....more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has long questioned whether contractors and their supply chains have been fully compliant with existing cybersecurity requirements aimed at protecting Controlled Unclassified Information...more
The Georgia Tech case serves as yet another reminder of the importance of contractor compliance with cybersecurity requirements in federal contracts. The Government alleges that Georgia Tech failed to comply with the...more
Some might say there’s little difference between dealing with the devil and being a federal contractor. And for the unwary or unprepared, that may not be far off. Federal contracting comes with a litany of “fine print” that...more
Cybersecurity requirements for federal contractors and grantees continue to proliferate—and those requirements do not just come with contractual risk. Increasingly, the United States government is leveraging enforcement...more