Government Contracts Insights

October 03, 2018 - Acquisition Regulations, Protests & Litigation, Compliance
GAO Sharpening its Blade [Strategies] on OTA Review
By: Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recent decision in Blade Strategies, LLC , B-416752, 2018 WL 4584111 (Comp. Gen. Sept. 24, 2018) , clarifies the GAO’s jurisdiction and standard of review for protests of other transaction agreements (OTAs), and also serves as a good reminder
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September 24, 2018 - Protests & Litigation, Defense, Compliance
Increased Security Risks May Be a Cardinal Change
By: J. Alex Ward, Charles L. Capito and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once explained that there are the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. Some greeted that gnomic pronouncement with bemused smiles. But contractors operating in a contingency environment know exactly what he was talking about. No mere mortal can accurately predict,
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August 09, 2018 - Federal Procurement, Protests & Litigation, Compliance
“Workin’ Nine to Five” – But Not in a Government Office: Requesting a Debriefing
By: James A. Tucker
In Exceptional Software Strategies, Inc ., B-416232 , the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently addressed the obscure rules for when a disappointed offeror must request a debriefing. It’s generally well known that, in procurements where offerors may have a right to debriefings, a disappointed
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July 24, 2018 - Protests & Litigation
Corporate Transactions as a Basis for Protest (Post-Award Protest Primer #18)
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
Most corporate transactions go forward without protests. Several prominent protest decisions over the last few years, however, have drawn attention to the complicated and sometimes unpredictable effect corporate transactions can have on pending procurements. This uncertainty is exacerbated by the (often required) secrecy around
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June 06, 2018 - Protests & Litigation
Unreasonableness And Lack Of Documentation (Post-Award Protest Primer #17)
By: James A. Tucker
Today’s installment of the post-award protest primer combines two frequent, related protest grounds: (1) unreasonable evaluations and source selection decisions and (2) insufficient documentation. In a future post, we’ll look more granularly at protest grounds best value tradeoffs in particular and the duties of
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May 23, 2018 - Protests & Litigation
A New Bid Protest Timeliness Trap: Pre-Award Laches
By: James A. Tucker
On this blog, we frequently discuss the various timeliness traps that can undermine bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). A recent bid protest decision from the Court of Federal Claims addresses a timeliness trap that is rare and has never before been
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May 16, 2018 - Protests & Litigation
Bad Faith and Biased Procurement Officials (Post-Award Protest Primer #16)
By: James A. Tucker
We previously have referred in passing to Government bad faith as a protest ground that almost never is worth raising. Today, we’ll address this rarely successful protest ground and discuss why it’s almost always a loser, as well as the rare circumstances in which
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April 12, 2018 - Protests & Litigation
Procurement Integrity Act Violations (Post-Award Protest Primer #15)
By: James A. Tucker
Offerors should, and generally do, carefully guard the confidentiality of their bid and proposal information. And agencies that receive that information generally are careful to prevent its improper release, much as they guard against release of other source selection sensitive information. The Procurement Integrity
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March 23, 2018 - Protests & Litigation
Bait-And-Switch And Unavailable Key Personnel (Post-Award Protest Primer #14)
By: James A. Tucker
The bait-and-switch in the salesman’s world involves enticing a prospective customer with an unbelievably good deal, only to switch it at the last moment with a bargain that is considerably less attractive to the buyer, and far more profitable for the seller. A version
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January 31, 2018 - Federal Procurement, Protests & Litigation
Rare Federal Circuit Protest Decision Affirms Agency Discretion in Sole Source Context
By: J. Alex Ward
Last week, the Federal Circuit issued a rare opinion on a bid protest in Agustawestland North America, Inc. v. United States. Bid protest decisions by the Court of Federal Claims are seldom appealed by protesters because the ability to get a meaningful remedy quickly
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Topic Archives: Protests & Litigation

GAO Sharpening its Blade [Strategies] on OTA Review

By: Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

Increased Security Risks May Be a Cardinal Change

By: J. Alex Ward, Charles L. Capito and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

“Workin’ Nine to Five” – But Not in a Government Office: Requesting a Debriefing

By: James A. Tucker

Corporate Transactions as a Basis for Protest (Post-Award Protest Primer #18)

By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker

Unreasonableness And Lack Of Documentation (Post-Award Protest Primer #17)

By: James A. Tucker

A New Bid Protest Timeliness Trap: Pre-Award Laches

By: James A. Tucker

Bad Faith and Biased Procurement Officials (Post-Award Protest Primer #16)

By: James A. Tucker

Procurement Integrity Act Violations (Post-Award Protest Primer #15)

By: James A. Tucker

Bait-And-Switch And Unavailable Key Personnel (Post-Award Protest Primer #14)

By: James A. Tucker

Rare Federal Circuit Protest Decision Affirms Agency Discretion in Sole Source Context

By: J. Alex Ward