Brian Walsh

*This alert was originally published on February 11, 2025, and was updated on March 6, 2025. UPDATE: On March 5, 2025, Judge Angel Kelley, a federal district court judge sitting in Massachusetts, granted a nationwide preliminary injunction which serves to temporarily block the Trump Administration’s attempt to cap the indirect cost rates of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants at 15%. Judge Kelley granted the preliminary injunction in response to three different actions challenging the February 7 Notice issued by NIH. One of the actions was filed by states, another was filed by medical associations, and another was filed by higher-education associations and universities. The order granting the preliminary injunction highlights the impact the Notice would have on quality of research, public health, and human life.

On January 29, 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued an Order announcing that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) would prioritize issuing grants, loans, and contracts to communities with “marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.”

In this episode of Wiley’s Government Contracts podcast, partners Tracye Howard and Sara Baxenberg discuss the evolving national security concerns surrounding Internet of Things (IoT) modules produced by Chinese companies like Quectel. They delve into the implications of these developments for government contractors, focusing on the recent addition of Quectel to the U.S. Department of Defense's 1260H List and upcoming restrictions from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The conversation explores the interplay of various regulatory frameworks, potential changes to the FCC’s covered list, and the broader implications for supply chains and contracting with the DOD.

Case of the Month Club, a program in which our expert instructors will take a deep dive into recent decisions involving issues that affect all of us on a regular basis. This class, meant for contracting professionals, will focus on different cases, going beyond the mere holding into the history, tactics, and significance of the case as a whole. Whether the cases are bid protests or contract claims, our instructors, all of whom are experienced professionals, will discuss the facts of the cases at hand, the reasons why the cases are important, the strategies that were used, and the lessons that can be learned from them. To maximize your experience, we will send you copies of the cases in advance so that you are primed for the discussion when our program begins. Sound interesting? We hope so, and we look forward to having you with us for the start of the series.

Please join our Case of the Month Club, a program in which our expert instructors will take a deep dive into recent decisions involving issues that affect all of us on a regular basis. This class, meant for contracting professionals, will focus on different cases, going beyond the mere holding into the history, tactics, and significance of the case as a whole. Whether the cases are bid protests or contract claims, our instructors, all of whom are experienced professionals, will discuss the facts of the cases at hand, the reasons why the cases are important, the strategies that were used, and the lessons that can be learned from them. To maximize your experience, we will send you copies of the cases in advance so that you are primed for the discussion when our program begins. Sound interesting? We hope so, and we look forward to having you with us for the start of the series.

In this episode of Wiley's Government Contracts podcast, Wiley Partner Scott Felder discusses the complexities of software licensing in government contracts. The group covers key issues like license compliance, terminations, and navigating disputes with government agencies. This episode also highlights the Department of Defense's recent memo encouraging the use of innovative acquisition methods such as Other Transaction (OT) agreements.

PCI’s Case of the Month Club edition on March 11 will feature one CDA claims case and a bid protest. The CDA case, Cobeal Consulting Group, ASBCA NO. 63815, 2025 WL 607465 (JAN. 28, 2025), tells the tale of a construction contractor that got caught up in the confusing challenge of understanding the difference between a request for equitable adjustment and a claim.

The Trump administration has issued an unprecedented number of Executive Orders that impact contractors and grantees in the month since inauguration. Many of these, such as funding freezes and DEI related EOs, have led to a variety of contract actions being taken by agencies—including the issuance of stop work orders (SWO). In this virtual training, we will discuss what to do if you receive a SWO from an agency including STOP (work), DROP (the SWO on your subcontractors), and ROLL (on with your cost tracking) and everything in between.