Required, Recommended or Rejected? Strategies for Managing Federal Contractor Flowdown Obligations

This course will discuss best practices for managing the "flowdown" of federal FAR, agency supplement, and prime contract clauses. We will address these issues from the dual, and often conflicting, perspectives of federal prime contractors as well as subcontractors under federal prime contracts. This program will benefit not only attorneys representing federal contractors or subcontractors, but also personnel responsible for negotiating and overseeing performance of federal subcontracts.

While the flowdown of certain federal clauses is mandatory, there are a host of FAR, agency supplement, and prime contract clauses or provisions that parties need to carefully consider whether they should be flowed down to a subcontractor. Many times this can be a delicate and potentially contentious negotiation, but this program will suggest key issues to consider when handling these situations whether as a prime contractor representative or subcontractor representative. Finally, we will address recent developments that have created more unique flowdown and compliance challenges for federal contractors.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify typical mandatory FAR and agency supplement flowdown provisions
2. Discuss factors to consider when deciding whether to propose flowdown of non-mandatory provisions
3. Suggest ways to prepare for a flowdown clause negotiation session
4. Strategize ways to manage risk when flowing down unique and challenging new obligations imposed on federal contractors