2018 Fall - Nashville

1:30 pm
Registration

2 – 4 pm
Cybersecurity — Knowing the Enemy and Responding to an Attack
With all of the talk about the impacts of hostile cyber attacks and rules aimed at preventing security incidents, the nuts and bolts of such attacks and their aftermath sometimes get lost. This session will provide participants valuable insight into hackers, their most likely targets, and key data protection expectations. It will also include an interactive real-time "tabletop" demonstration focused on identifying, recovering and responding to a successful cyber attack.

Topics will include:

• Who are these hackers and what do they want?
• What makes a contractor a good target?
• What actually happens when you learn about a successful attack?

Moderator
Charles Barley Jr., Director, Risk Advisory Services (IT), RSM US, LLP, McLean, VA
Speakers
Sean Renshaw, Director, National Leader, Digital Forensics and Incident Response, RSM US, LLP, Chicago, IL
Andrew Weidenhamer, Security Director, RSM US, LLP, McLean, VA

4 – 4:15 pm
Networking Break

4:15 – 5:45 pm
Politics & Policy of Responding to Procurement Crises
Federal and state governments have seen a number of procurement crises occur over the last several years. From the technical problems in the rollout of the Healthcare.gov to Tennessee's recent nullification of a large number of state education testing results, many of these crises trace back to issues in the procurement of technology. This panel will consider the legal and political aspects of responding to these situations when they arise. Topics will include:

• Recent high profile procurement crises
• Responding to procurement crises
• Potential changes to procurement policy and technical aspects of contracting

Moderator
Mary Beth Bosco, Partner, Holland & Knight, Washington, DC
Speakers
Nathaniel Greeson, Senior Procurement Litigation Attorney, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (FEMA), Washington, DC
Dismas Locaria, Partner, Venable LLP, Washington, DC
Jeffrey P. Yarbro, Tennessee State Senator — District 21 and Counsel, Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC, Nashville, TN

6:15 – 7:45 pm
Reception (sponsored by Baker Donelson)
Baker Donelson
211 Commerce St

7:30 – 8:15 am
Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 10 am
The Thoughtful Contractor’s Approach to Subcontract Terms and Clauses
Given the proliferation of complex contract clauses that impose obligations on not only the prime contractor but also multiple levels of subcontractors, the days of flowing down clauses by simply including them verbatim in subcontracts are long gone, at least for contractors who take contract performance and compliance seriously. This session will explore this new reality of subcontracting through a scenario that highlights the some of the challenges facing thoughtful contractors today. Topics will include:

• Sorting Out the Interests of Prime Contractors, Subcontractors and the Government in Defining Subcontract Terms
• When Merely "Flowing Down" Is not Enough
• What Subcontract Terms are Mandatory and Why?

Moderator
Howard Wolf-Rodda, Partner, Abrahams Wolf-Rodda, LLC, Potomac, MD
Speakers
Keir Bancroft, Associate General Counsel (Acquisition), U.S. Air Force, Washington DC
Christine Couvillon, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC
Karri Palmetier, Partner, Palmetier Law, Denver, CO

10 – 10:15 am
Networking Break

10:15 – 11:45 am
Lessons Learned from SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protégé Program
This panel will feature a discussion of the lessons learned during the first two years of SBA's All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, which in October 2016 opened up participation, formerly limited to the 8(a) Program, to all socioeconomic designations (small, WOSB, SDVOSB, HUBZone). The panelists will discuss the new Program's popularity, how contractors are using it (e.g., joint venturing), and the challenges and opportunities for SBA to evolve the Program over time. Topics will include:

• Practical considerations in applying for the Program
• Opportunities and pitfalls for Joint Ventures and other forms of assistance under the Program
• SBA's enforcement of Program requirements
• Program challenges and plans for future changes

Moderator
Stephen P. Ramaley, Associate, Miles & Stockbridge P.C., Tysons Corner, VA and Washington, DC
Speakers
LaTanya Channel, State Director of Tennessee, U.S. Small Business Administration, Nashville, TN
Joshua A. Mullen, Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, Nashville, TN

Noon – 1:45 pm
Luncheon Program: AI for the Law and Law for AI — The Train Has Left the Station!
Presenter
Professor J.B. Ruhl, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law; Director — Program on Law & Innovation; Co-Director — Energy, Environment, and Land Use Program, Vanderbilt University Law School, Nashville, TN

2 – 3:30 pm
Nuts & Bolts of False Claims Act Practice
This panel will feature a discussion of the practical implications of the Escobar decision in the context of False Claims Act litigation. The panelists will focus on the nuts and bolts of a post-Escobar False Claims Act case — from pleading and motions to dismiss through discovery.

Topics will include:

• Practical considerations in alleging and defending implied certification theories
• How discovery has (and hasn’t) changed in a materiality world
• What the future may hold for False Claims Act law and litigation

Moderator
Daniel E. Chudd, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP, McLean, VA
Speakers
Anna C. Haac, Partner, Tycko & Zavareei LLP, Washington, DC
J.B. Perrine, Senior Counsel, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., Pascagoula, MS
Elizabeth Rinaldo, Senior Trial Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC
Lisa S. Rivera, Partner, Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC, Nashville, TN
Christopher C. Sabis, Assistant United States Attorney, Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville, TN

3:30 – 3:45 pm
Networking Break

3:45 – 5:15 pm
Federal Grants Subaward Panel — Navigating Common Issues in Disparate Programs
The Section's recently established Grant Law Committee will host a panel of practitioners and industry participants focusing on issues that arise in making and managing subawards under federal financial assistance awards (i.e., grants and cooperative agreements). Challenges ranging from selection of instrument type, to identifying key flow down requirements, to establishing reasonable yet effective oversight mechanisms are inherent in each subrecipient transaction regardless of federal program. Join us to discuss common challenges and strategies for passthrough entities (the "primes") and subrecipients alike.

Topics will include:

• Legal and practical challenges of structuring joint/ collaborative project performance
• Key compliance concerns
• State agency challenges in carrying out federal programs through contracts with local government and private contractors and subrecipients

Moderator
Scott S. Sheffler, Partner, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP
Speakers
Kourtney Hennard, Contract Officer — Sponsored Programs Administration, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Kelly Randall, Senior Assistant General Counsel, State of Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, TN
Abby Regan, Contract Specialist — Special Programs Administration, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Andrea Wilson, Partner, BDO USA, LLP, Washington, DC

5:15 pm
Closing Remarks / Adjourn

5:15 – 6:30 pm
Section Reception
The Section of Public Contract Law gratefully acknowledges the support and contributions from our section reception sponsors.

8 am – Noon
Council Meeting
Please join the leaders of the Section in the open session to discuss actions and information on legislation, regulations, and other current issues important to government contract practitioners. All members and meeting registrants are welcome to attend the Council Meeting.