The Nash & Cibinic Report, which was inaugurated in 1987 by Professors Ralph C. Nash, Jr., and John Cibinic, Jr., GW's legendary government contracts law team, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The monthly report remains a staple in the libraries of government contracts lawyers, providing analysis of current federal procurement issues by leaders in the field.
The report was the brainchild of Henry Keiser, who founded Federal Publications, Inc., a publisher of newsletters, textbooks, and other government procurement and public contract law materials, shortly before Professor Nash founded the Government Contracts Program at GW Law in 1960. The two collaborated on conferences and courses during the first fifteen years of the program. After Keiser sold Federal Publications, he was interested in establishing a new publication in the field of government contracts. Despite wondering whether "there would be enough to write about," Professors Nash and Cibinic agreed to give it a try. "It worked out well in that it gave us an opportunity to tell it the way we saw it in contrast to the books that try to tell it as it is," Professor Nash said. "Obviously, neither of us ever conceived that it would go on for thirty years, but I have found it so enjoyable that I can’t stop. So we will continue on for the foreseeable future."
The Nash & Cibinic Report Roundtable, a symposium held annually in early December in Washington, D.C., led by Professor Emeritus Nash and Vernon Edwards, brings together a group of procurement experts to discuss six current issues in an open environment that encourages participation from attendees. The Roundtable was developed in the same spirit as the report, providing a forum for candid, timely discussion of current issues by experts in the field, with a practical takeaway for government contracts lawyers.