Blog
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | March 11, 2019 |
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Government contractors focused on DoD’s acquisition efforts and other businesses should keep an eye on the smoke signals in Washington rising on privacy. From GDPR in Europe, to the draft new NIST Privacy Framework, to NTIA’s request for comments on privacy, the legal landscape on this…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 26, 2019 |
Business Litigation
Timbs v. Indiana, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-1091 (20 February 2019) Eighth Amendment; excessive fines Tyson Timbs pled guilty in Indiana state court to dealing in heroin and conspiracy to commit theft. He was sentenced to one year of home detention and five years of probation, including addiction-treatment.
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 19, 2019 |
Business Litigation
Under current Virginia law, employees have a difficult time collecting wages that are improperly withheld. The costs of hiring a lawyer often outweigh the benefits of collecting the unpaid wages. The remedies presently available to a Virginia employee seeking to collect earned wages are (1) file a complaint with the…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 14, 2019 |
Business Litigation
Stokeling v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-5554 (15 January 2019) Denard Stokeling was either an inept criminal or just plain unlucky. In the course of his checkered career, he managed to acquire three felony convictions; home invasion, kidnapping, and robbery. Then, he acquired a fourth felony conviction, being…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 13, 2019 |
Government Contracts
Although the complexity of the solicitation process makes it easy for “things to fall between the cracks,” the solicitation process has little room for error. Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that an offeror who had failed to respond to an agency request to extend its proposal was reasonably…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 12, 2019 |
Government Contracts
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) requires that most contracts with the federal government include a clause mandating that the contractor have a written code of business ethics and conduct, and that it conducts periodic reviews to ensure the effectiveness of that code in rooting out fraud and corruption…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 12, 2019 |
Government Contracts
Because a protest can adversely impact a government contractor’s relationship with its customer, to say nothing of being costly, unsuccessful offerors might be tempted to file a protest only after they have good facts to base a protest on. Recently, however, an incumbent contractor waited too long, according…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 11, 2019 |
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Since December 31, 2017, DoD contractors are required to have “implemented” DFARs Clause 252.204-7012 (“Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting”) by the implementation of NIST 800-171 on their covered information systems. For most of the past year, contractors have been told they mainly need to have System…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 29, 2019 |
Business Litigation
New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-340 (15 January 2019) Federal Arbitration Act; contracts of employment; statutory authority to compel arbitration In 1925, Congress enacted the Federal Arbitration Act (“the Act”), 9 U.S.C. §1 et seq., in an effort to counteract judicial hostility to arbitration…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 25, 2019 |
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Davison v. Randall, ___ Fd.3rd ___, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit No. 17-2002 (7 January 2019) First Amendment, free speech clause; Facebook; public official In 2015, Phyllis J. Randall became the chairperson of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. After taking office, Randall created a…
