The Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984 establishes a procedure that effectively pauses performance of a federal contract award during a bid protest.
If a disappointed bidder files a protest with the Government...more
7/10/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Bid Protests ,
CICA ,
COFC ,
Contract Disputes ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
Equitable Tolling ,
GAO ,
Judicial Authority ,
Judicial Review ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Statutory Interpretation
Timing is everything when it comes to bid protests at GAO.
There is a mountain of GAO case law dismissing untimely protests. Contractors must strictly follow GAO’s regulations to avoid that fate and obtain a Competition...more
6/24/2025
/ Bid Protests ,
CICA ,
Contract Disputes ,
Debriefing ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Filing Deadlines ,
GAO ,
Government Agencies ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation
Federal construction contracts often involve unforeseen delays. The key question is who is responsible for the resulting costs.
A new decision from the ASBCA provides a blueprint for how contractors can maximize recovery...more
6/16/2025
/ Appeals ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Disputes ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies
Federal contractors understandably associate litigation at the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) with recovering monetary damages. Appealing denied claims to the COFC (along with the Boards of Contract Appeals) is the exclusive...more
6/9/2025
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
COFC ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Disputes Act ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
CPARS ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Litigation Strategies
Price realism challenges stand out as a common basis for bid protests in federal procurements.
A competitor’s unrealistically low pricing may signal a lack of understanding or commitment to contract performance. Price...more
5/28/2025
/ Bid Protests ,
Compensation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Government Agencies
Federal contractors need to be proactive about detecting and neutralizing or mitigating Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI).
The FAR’s OCI provisions (currently found at FAR Subpart 9.5) promote the fairness and...more
In what is sure to be an on-going series, we have the latest update regarding the FAR 2.0 rollout.
Releasing the First Rollout-
On May 2, 2025, the FAR Council released substantive rewrites of FAR Parts 1 (Federal...more
GAO just sharpened the distinction between winning and losing protest arguments related to key project personnel. The issue turns on the question of whether the winning proposal included “material misrepresentations” – and...more
The federal procurement landscape continues to shift and transform.
Two recent executive orders push the government contracting community further towards the plan for a comprehensive update of the Federal Acquisition...more
Most government contracts include a Changes clause (notably, FAR 52.243-1), which grants the Government the right to order changes to the scope of the contractor’s work. That clause also entitles the contractor to an...more
The general rule (FAR 14.404-1(a)) is that – once a solicitation is put out for bid – the agency must award the contract to the responsible bidder with the lowest responsive bid.
However, as is usually the case, there are...more
We invite you to review the materials from our presentations that covered key issues facing government contractors. The topics include:
• Year in Review – Federal Contracts Case Law Update-
• Cost Accounting Compliance-...more
11/3/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Buy American Act ,
China ,
Contract Disputes ,
Copyright ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Internal Investigations ,
Risk Management ,
Section 301 ,
Tax Incentives ,
Trade Agreements Act ,
USTR
Early this month, several electrical trade associations urged the Biden administration to implement pragmatic BABA rules. In the letter sent to the Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator at the White House, the...more
One of the most common concerns for federal contractors is delay.
Projects can fall behind schedule for a variety of reasons that are outside of the contractor’s control (government-directed changes, differing site...more
Small business government contractors are (or should be) aware of the SBA’s affiliation rules. In a nutshell, the rules set the standard for whether/when another business controls – or has the ability to control – the small...more
This is the eighth (and last) of an eight-part series addressing cutting-edge strategies for Certified Claims under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). Certified Claims are the primary avenue available to government contractors...more
This is the seventh of an eight-part series addressing cutting-edge strategies for Certified Claims under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). Certified Claims are the primary avenue available to government contractors to...more
This is the sixth of an eight-part series addressing cutting-edge strategies for Certified Claims under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). Certified Claims are the primary avenue available to government contractors to recover...more
The CDA has a reputation as a “catchall” for disputes between federal contractors and the government – and to a certain extent that reputation makes a lot of sense. As I’ve been covering in this series, contractors can...more
So, if you are owed time and money on a contract, should your next move be a CDA Claim or an REA? There is no one-size-fits-all answer – and contractors should carefully consider their own unique circumstances before...more
This is the third of an eight-part series addressing cutting-edge strategies for Certified Claims under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). Certified Claims are the primary avenue available to government contractors to recover...more
Federal contractors that experience government-caused increases to the cost/time of performance have a direct route for seeking an adjustment to their contract – the Contract Disputes Act (CDA)....more
This is the first of an eight-part series addressing cutting-edge strategies for Certified Claims under the Contract Disputes Act. Certified Claims are the primary avenue available to government contractors to recover...more
A newly published Small Business Administration Final Rule provides small businesses with two new ways to satisfy Past Performance requirements when competing for federal prime contracts. The Rule takes effect on August 22,...more
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $5.2 million civil settlement agreement to resolve small business set-aside fraud allegations against an aerospace contractor.
While the $5+ million...more