Understanding Implications of Compliance to Government Contracts

Nishat Ruiter, VP and Associate General Counsel, CA Technologies, USA

Government contracts are complex instruments that require rigour, discipline and foresight well beyond the signature and execution of the deal. These contracts have unique obligations and duties not generally intuitive, and are intertwined with administrative and regulatory conditions that tether the actions of a company to financial, operational and legal obligations. In-house counsel must take into consideration the long term implications and prepare its client to avoid unacceptable legal risk that results from inability to meet these obligations. This paper offers in-house counsel tools to assist in sifting through these issues and suggests a process that equips them to evaluate these overall risks. It necessitates a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the company’s operations and practices. To become familiar with common government obligations and recurring themes, tangible markers found in these contracts are reviewed. Implications of terms such as most favoured nation pricing will also be identified. Finally, by adopting the suggested methods presented, in-house counsel and their clients can avoid unacceptable legal consequences and equip them to understand government compliance standards.

Nishat Ruiter manages the Legal Division for CA's public sector business, serves as counsel to CA's corporate Senior Vice President of Sales for the Americas and handles CA's global outsourcing licenses. Her career at CA began in 2005, heading the Mid-Atlantic Area legal team for all IP Sales transactions. In 2006, her role expanded to include public sector negotiations and oversight for GSA compliance. Preceding CA, Nishat worked for Chubb Group of Insurance Companies as Corporate Attorney in IP licensing and regulatory analysis; for a financial professionsal services company at Capco as Senior Counsel for North America; and for BinaryTree.com as General Counsel. She also worked in private practice in New York City and Utrecht, the Netherlands. She currently lives near Princeton, New Jersey where she is happily married with two young children. She is passionate about global citizenship, music, work and life, and is a member of the Bahá’í Faith.

CA (NASDAQ: CA), one of the world's largest independent software companies, provides software solutions to unify and simplify (TM) IT management. With CA's Enterprise IT Management (EITM) vision and expertise, organizations can more effectively govern, manage and secure IT to optimize business performance and sustain competitive advantage. Founded in 1976, CA serves customers in virtually every country in the world.