federal contract managementby norman steiger

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Federal Contract Management by Norman Steiger Review by: James F. Nagle Public Contract Law Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Fall 1991), pp. 129-130 Published by: American Bar Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25755653 . Accessed: 15/06/2014 13:09 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . American Bar Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Public Contract Law Journal. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.78.108.60 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:09:13 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Page 1: Federal Contract Managementby Norman Steiger

Federal Contract Management by Norman SteigerReview by: James F. NaglePublic Contract Law Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Fall 1991), pp. 129-130Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25755653 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 13:09

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

American Bar Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to PublicContract Law Journal.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.60 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:09:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: Federal Contract Managementby Norman Steiger

Book Review

Reviewed by James F. Nagle*

Federal Contract Management

Norman Steiger, Editor-in-Chief

Published by Matthew Bender

Saul Bellow once wrote that "sometimes it is necessary to repeat what we all know." The equivalent of that in book reviews is that

sometimes it is necessary to review a book that has been on the

market for quite some time, but which some readers may not be

aware of. Such a book, actually books, is Federal Contract Manage ment, a three-volume work first published by Matthew Bender in 1984, but continually updated to reflect the latest cases, regula tions, and decisions.

The authors of this work represent a "Who's Who" in govern ment contracts. The preface to the work states that their combined

talents comprise a total of over 300 years of experience in govern ment management. Besides Norm Steiger, as editor-in-chief, they include David V. Anthony, Paul Dembling, and Marshall Doke. The

problem with selecting only three authors is that you will undoubt

edly offend the others. My rationale for selecting those three from

the other stellar authors is that each of those three has served as

Chair of the Public Contract Law Section, and would therefore be

especially recognizable to the readers of this publication. As befits a three-volume work, this work is extremely compre

hensive. The first volume addresses the authority of the govern ment to contract for goods and services; contract administration in

general; contracting methods and types; preparing, submitting, and

evaluating proposals; negotiation techniques; bids and awards; and cost recovery and payment. Volume 2 deals with technical engi

*James F. Naele practices law with Seattle's Oles, Morrison & Rinker. He received his L.L.M. and S J.D. in Government Contracts from the National Law Center at George Washington University.

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Page 3: Federal Contract Managementby Norman Steiger

Public Contract Law Journal

neering concepts; changes; social policy considerations; classified contracts and access to contractor records; general contracting

requirements; terminations for convenience; and remedies. Volume

3 deals with disputes and claims; inspection acceptance, delivery, and warranty; control of contract performance; special categories of contracting; and finally, ethics in government contracting.

Although the work was originally published in 1982, it has been

continually updated, both by the original authors, and by new authors. Jeff Lovitky, for example, has updated Chapter 10 on social policy considerations, classified contracts, and access to

contractor records, and Chapter 18, ethics in government

contracting, to ensure that the book is current in those areas in

which the growth of statutes, regulations, and litigation since 1982 can only be described as explosive. Chapter 10 alone is now 205 pages, plus exhibits, while Chapter 18 encompasses 168 pages, plus exhibits. While page numbers alone can indicate many things, that

amount of quality-filled, concisely written pages shows how exhaustive has been the preparation of this work. An additional

benefit of the book is that it issues new pages to cover important items of interest. For example, the book now has inserted in front

of Volume I discussions of the 1991 defense authorization bill, procurement integrity, procurement fraud, and recent CAS board

developments, among others.

The book is well indexed, and this index is supplemented to match recent additions to the text.

One subtitle to the series is "Practical Analysis, Forms and Formats." I found that to be very correct. For example, Chapter 6 dealing with bids and awards by Paul Shnitzer contains sample protests to the GSBCA and sample notices of intervention at the GSBCA. Chapter 5, dealing with negotiations, by Norm Steiger, contains an exhibit that discusses subcontract flow-down require ments. This thirty-three-page exhibit, which cites the applicable portion of the FAR and whether there is a mandatory or optional flow-down clause, and some common-sense remarks are invalua ble. The chart is developed by Robert V. Lieg of Atlantic Research

Corporation. This combination of a comprehensive approach to the subject,

timely updates, and a practical discussion of forms and format to

discuss the substantive law makes this a very worthwhile tool for

the contract professional.

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