Market*Access International




 

Government Best Practices Training Workshop

Government Contract Law
For Non-Lawyers Who Need to Know Contract Law

April 5-7, 2006

Market*Access Training Center
4301 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1003
Arlington, VA 22203

NOTE: On-line registrations for this workshop are now closed. Space is available for walk in registrants. To register the day of the conference, please bring your payment and the attached registration form.

Registration: 7:30 AM (Day One Only)

Program Starts: 8:30 AM

Wrap-up: 4:30 PM

 ****PLEASE NOTE: The course materials consist of two 2" binders. Please bring an extra bag or a suitcase big enough to carry the materials. ********

About This Workshop

Understanding government contract law is the lynchpin to being an effective contract professional. Without this understanding you expose yourself and your organization to possible legal entanglements.

The Government Contract Law Workshop takes you through the purpose, interpretation, applicability, legal and administrative ramifications of the clauses, statutes, executive orders and regulations applicable to Government prime contracts and subcontracts.

You'll get a primer in "preventive" contract law to help you avoid legal problems and to handle them swiftly and effectively if they do arise. The major decisions of the Boards of Contract Appeals, the Comptroller General, and the Courts are examined. The rights and responsibilities of the Government and the prime contractor and the specific problems of the prime and subcontractor relationship are explained. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and its relationship to the current agency regulations will be covered in detail.

You'll take home the following reference materials: (1) "Government Contract Law," 9 chapters, 400 pages; (2) Lecture Notes - A complete set of lecture notes which summarizes and expands on the text material; (3) a CD of the Federal Acquisition Regulation; and (4) Contract and Fiscal Law Developments of 2005 -- The Year in Review

Learning Objectives

  • Use legal requirements to positively affect contract performance
  • Minimize legal reviews
  • Know what you can and can't do
  • Protect your interests with key legal precedents
  • Reduce the potential for claims & disputes upfront
  • Avoid other legal entanglements
     
Government Contract Law attendees can earn 1 credit towards AGUs 3-credit graduate-level law course by completing and passing the optional exam.
 
Government Contract Law is a 24-hour course designed to fulfill FAC-C and DAWIA mandates requiring 24 hours of business credit. Students wishing to earn FAC-C and or DAWIA credit should take and pass the optional exam.  

For more information please contact AGU at 1-866-273-1736 or AGU online.

AGU offers accredited Master's of Acquisition Management and Master's of Contract Management Degree programs tailored to the government contracting and acquisition workforce. For more information go to:  http://www.agu.edu/Acquisition_mgnt/degrees.html


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 Who Should Attend

  • Contract Managers & Administrators
  • Contracting Officers & Specialists
  • Procurement/Purchasing Managers
  • House Counsel
  • Negotiators
  • General & Subcontract Managers
  • Budget & Fiscal Officers
  • Government Sales/Marketing Managers
  • Project Managers
  • Proposal Managers

Early Registrants Include:

  • Allliant Techsystems, Contract Administrator
  • Army National Guard, Facilities Management Officer
  • BAE Systems, Facilities Management Officer
  • Bechtel National, Manager, Marketing and Business Development
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Cantata Technology, CQO & Vice President of Operations
  • Casals & Associates, General Counsel
  • DARPA/System Planning Corporation, Procurement Services Manager
  • Department of the Army, Computer Specialist Manager
  • Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General, Assistant Inspector General for Audits
  • Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Program Audits
  • Grahams Construction Inc., President
  • Grahams Construction Inc., Vice President
  • HHS/OS/ASAM/PSC/SAS/DAM, Contracting Officer
  • H.W. Lochner, Inc., CFO
  • Kaman Aerospace, Contract Administrator
  • Mercer County, Ohio Job & Family Services, Fiscal Officer
  • Robison Aviation, Inc.
  • U.S. Department of the Interior - Office of the Inspector General, Budget Officer
  • U.S. Department of the Interior - Office of the Inspector General, Contract Specialist

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Course Syllabus

This class uses a mix of learning approaches including practical experience from classroom exercises, case studies and discussion from these subjects:

I. Introduction to Government Contract Law

  • Regulations
  • The Influence of the Uniform Commercial Code
  • The Available Administrative and Judicial Forums
  • Authority of Government Representatives
  • Contract Interpretation and Exculpatory Clauses

II. Contract Formation

An Overview of Procurement Methods
  • Simplified Acquisition
  • Commercial Item Acquisition
  • Federal Supply Schedule Contracting
  • Department of Homeland Security
Contract Types
  • Fixed Price
  • Cost Reimbursement

The Two Principle Methods of Procurement

  • Sealed Bidding
  • Competitive Negotiation

II. Protests

The Notification-Debriefing-Protest Continuum

  • Notification to Unsuccessful Offerors
  • Debriefings
    • Preaward Debriefings
    • Postaward Debriefings
  • Protests
    • At the Procuring Agency
    • At the Government Accountability Office
    • At the Court of Federal Claims

III.  Contract Costs

Cost Principles, Cost Accounting Standards and Truth in Negotiations

  • Cost Principles - FAR Part 31
    • Allowability
    • Reasonableness
  • Complying with CAS
    • Allocability
  • TINA:  Requirement and Risks

IV. Performance Problems

Changes and Terminations

  • The "Changes" Clause
    • Contractor's Duty to Proceed
    • Constructive Changes
  • Contract Terminations
    • Default Terminations
    • Bases for Terminations
    • Cure Notices
    • Contractor Defenses
    • Government Remedies
  • Convenience Terminations
    • Termination Settlement Proposals
       

V. Disputes & Appeals

The Contract Disputes Process

  • The Contract Disputes Act
  • The Disputes Path
    • Asserting a "Claim"
    • Certification
    • The "Final Decision"
    • Appealing the Final Decision
  • Appeal to A Board of Contract Appeals
  • Court of Federal Claims Proceedings
  • The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • Comparing the BCAs and the CFC

Alternative Dispute Resolution

  • Arbitration, Mediation and the Hybrids
  • An ADR Demonstration

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About Your Instructor

 Don Arnavas combines many years of experience as a judge, law school professor and practicing mediator and arbitrator and brings students instruction that is—at the same time—informative, authoritative and readily understandable. Don’s extensive experience both as a neutral and as counsel to the parties permits him to share the practical insights and advice that can lead to a satisfactory resolution of contracts disputes -- one that is both cost and time efficient.

Don is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and a member of the District of Columbia and Virginia Bars. He served for three years as a council member of the American Bar Association’s Public Contract Law Section and as a panel member of ACI, a London based ADR provider. Don is the author of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Government Contracts, the text used in this course and of the Government Contract Guidebook, which is in its 3rd Edition and continues to be widely used in colleges and law schools throughout the world. He is listed in the Guide to the World’s leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration–2004. Don has served as an Adjunct Professor at Penn State/Dickinson School of Law since 1983 and lectures extensively at other colleges and universities. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Army Judge Advocate General’s School.
 

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Contact Us

For registration information, please contact Pamela Greenstein at (703) 807-2758

For general information about this workshop, please contact Abbie Hickman, (703) 807-2753

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Registration Fee

  • Government attendees: $1,395 per person
  • Small Business (less than 100 employees): $1,445 per person
  • Industry: $1,495 per person

Registration Options

 NOTE: On-line registrations for this workshop are now closed. Space is available for walk in registrants. To register the day of the conference, please bring your payment and the attached registration form.

Registration form requires Acrobat Reader.

Registrations are payable by Visa, American Express, Mastercard, company check or government purchase order.

CANCELLATION POLICY: You may designate a substitute in writing any time before the event.. If you need to cancel your registration, you must send your notice in writing and will be subject to a $50 processing fee. No refunds are given for cancellations received one week prior to the event start date or later. PLEASE NOTE: No shows will be liable for the entire registration fee.

Market*Access has the right to refuse registration to any attendee at any time.
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Location Information

The workshop will be held in the Market*Access Training Center in the NRECA Building at 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Suite #1003 (10th floor), Arlington, VA 22203. Public parking at the facility is available for $9 a day. The NRECA Building is just one block from the Ballston Metro Station in the orange line. Please note: the parking garage and a side entrance to the building is on Taylor Street.

Ballston Metro stop information

Driving and Metro Directions

Nearby hotels include:

 

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Continuing Education Credits

Government Contract Law attendees can earn 1 credit towards AGU's 3-credit graduate-level law course by completing and passing the optional exam.
 
Government Contract Law is a 24-hour course designed to fulfill FAC-C and DAWIA mandates requiring 24 hours of business credit. Students wishing to earn FAC-C and or DAWIA credit should take and pass the optional exam.  

For more information please contact AGU at 1-866-273-1736 or AGU online.

AGU offers accredited Master's of Acquisition Management and Master's of Contract Management Degree programs tailored to the government contracting and acquisition workforce. For more information go to:  http://www.agu.edu/Acquisition_mgnt/degrees.html

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On-Site Training

Have a Large Staff to Train? Can't Make These Dates? Tight Travel Budget?

Market*Access can provide training, wherever and whenever you need, including on-site at your facility. Our staff will cost-effectively implement training customized to your needs. If you have group of attendees (usually 15 or more), we can bring this course to you and help save you time, travel costs, and more!

To request a proposal and schedule training, e-mail Laura Johnson, VP of Conferences & Strategic Planning, at ljohnson@marketaccess.org or call (703) 807-2747.

 

Marketing, Conference Management and Production by:

Market*Access International, Inc.
4301 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 1003
Arlington, VA 22203
(703) 807-2755

 

 
©2006 Market*Access International