Joseph Petrillo
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Consider this: You're a contracting officer. Your technical representative recommends one contractor out of three who are competing for task orders. You give eight orders to the recommended one, two to another and zero to the third contractor. Now, suppose your representatives were bribed by that first contractor. Yep, it all ended up in court. In this week's legal loop, Procurement Attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss the lessons learned.
October 23, 2014 -
How's this for a bid protest case? Two companies bid and both have the same price for the project. One company gets higher ratings for what the source selection authority called a multitude of highly innovative processes and insightful technology trends. In this week's legal loop segment, Procurement Attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss how the case unfolded.
October 08, 2014 -
A big contractor goes to court to challenge the Veterans Affairs Department's plan to limit a solicitation for services to small businesses - and the big guy wins. The details of the case make it one to watch, according to our procurement expert. Attorney Joe Petrillo explained the case of Rotech v. United States on the Federal Drive.
September 25, 2014 -
Probably every contracting officer has been tempted to do it. Lowball the size of an acquisition so that it falls under small business rules. Or accept a lowball bid from a contractor that knows better. A part of the Transportation Department tried this with a contractor that was about to graduate from the 8(a) program. Oops. The deal ended up in court. Lots of egg splatter to go around. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain the case in this week's legal loop segment.
September 11, 2014 -
ASBCA sounds like the people telling you to be nice to dogs. But the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals is all about military contracting, and what happens when it goes wrong. The Board has adopted some new rules to help streamline things and iron out ambiguities. In this week's legal loop, Procurement Attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with the details.
August 28, 2014 -
After spending $1 billion on a failed border security fence project, the Homeland Security Department restarted the project a couple of years ago. But it didn't get far. A $145 million award for seven new surveillance towers has been halted thanks to a successful protest. Raytheon filed the protest against the winning bidder, EFW, an affiliate of the Israeli defense contractor Elbit. The Government Accountability Office sustained the protest. In this week's legal loop segment, Procurement Attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to sort out the case.
July 31, 2014 -
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council would require all contractors at the prime and sub levels to report counterfeit or suspected counterfeit parts to the government.
July 21, 2014 -
Congress back in 2012 ordered Defense agencies and contractors to get a handle on counterfeit or non-conforming electronic parts. The FAR Council has taken a liberal reading of the law, and now we're beginning to see the scope of the reporting that will be required. How does a half million new reports per year grab you? In this week's legal loop segment, Procurement Attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive for an explanation.
July 17, 2014 -
A major war contractor is expecting a $45 million check from the U.S. government. A military appeals board has sided with Kellogg Brown & Root in its quest to get the government to reimburse it for security in Iraq. KBR paid out of its own pocket for private guards to protect convoys carrying supplies to the U.S. military. Procurement Attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to take a closer look at the five-year battle in this week's Legal Loop.
July 10, 2014 -
How much should contractors charge the government for labor for a project? Perhaps not surprisingly, it depends on the type of contract and what the government instructed the contractor to do. It gets murkier when subcontractors are involved. In a long running case between QinetiQ and the General Services Administration, GSA is asking for millions it says the company overcharged. The company sued, saying it was doing what the government asked for. In this week's Legal Loop, procurement attorney Joe Petrillo joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to sort out this highly-watched case.
June 26, 2014 -
Government contractors are feeling pretty good about a recent U.S. Appeals Court decision. It says the government must act in good faith and deal fairly in all government contracts. Believe it or not, this was not always the case. In this week's Legal Loop, Procurement Attorney Joe Petrillo examined the ruling and its implications when he joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive.
June 12, 2014 -
New statistics suggest agencies are taking a tougher stance with errant contractors. The Government Accountability Office charts a doubling of suspensions and debarments at six agencies in a single year. The numbers are even more dramatic when you look at the past five fiscal years. From 2009 to 2013, suspensions and debarments rose from 19 to 271. GAO says the agencies have addressed staffing issues, made it easier to report fraud or misconduct related to grants, and centralized their processes. In this week's legal loop segment, Tom and Emily spoke with procurement attorney Joe Petrillo. He explained the rise in numbers on the Federal Drive.
May 28, 2014 -
The Pentagon has issued a final rule for dealing with counterfeit parts. Officials believe too many of them make their way into crucial electronic systems, threatening their reliability or compromising their security. The rule has been a long time coming. It affects both government buyers and industry suppliers. Joe Petrillo, a procurement attorney with the law firm Petrillo & Powell, spoke about some of the main aspects of the rule with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive.
May 15, 2014 -
CERCLA sounds like a 1960s television character made out of a rug. It's actually an environmental law that can have a big effect on federal contracting. One recent CERCLA case shows how a gasoline contract from World War II can affect a procurement today. Attorney Joe Petrillo explained the case to Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.
May 01, 2014 -
When you download an app or update your software, do you read those fine-print licensing agreements? Few people, including federal employees, do. The Office of Management and Budget says those agreements essentially don't apply for government purchases. Instead, new regulations call for a standard clause in nearly every contract. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo breaks down the new provision with Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.
April 17, 2014