Construction and Infrastructure: Government and Public Procurement
Navigating a business deal with the federal government takes unique experience and an in-depth understanding of both law and policy. Our firm has an experienced team of lawyers who assist clients in developing or growing their government-related business. We provide a broad range of services to assist our contractor clients in obtaining and performing government business, with a focus on reducing risks and maximizing returns.
We know the federal marketplace and have helped shape the procurement regulation landscape over the past 30-plus years. We have significant experience with federal and state agencies, in addition to many years in private practice, providing advantages in counseling clients in procurement and contract negotiation matters, and, when necessary, litigating on our clients’ behalf.
Our lawyers have worked on federal construction projects around the world. Our experience includes both domestic and overseas work on US embassies, consulates, and large military projects located in North America, Asia, the South Pacific, Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East.
Competitive Bidding
Our lawyers regularly advise clients on a wide variety of procurement issues, including bid protests, bid reformation and withdrawal, solicitation evaluations, and small and disadvantaged business and minority programs. Our experience also includes the protection of rights in intellectual property and trade secrets as well as government procedures for submitting responsive proposals while at the same time protecting proprietary and trade secret information.
Bid Protests
Our bid protest experience is wide-reaching, representing clients in a broad range of areas and bases of protest both from the protester's and intervener’s perspectives. Our representations include: Improper evaluations; organizational conflicts of interest; improper or unequal discussions; improper sole source awards; improper assessment of HUBZone and other small business preferences; and virtually all other bases of protest. Our protest representations run the gamut, from run-of-the-mill construction projects, to billion dollar radar systems, to Federal Aviation Administration and defense matters.
Contractor Compliance and Audits and Investigations
Government contractors are often held to higher financial and ethical standards than those in the commercial and private marketplace. This is particularly true given recent statutory and regulatory changes that provide heightened reporting and oversight of federal contractors. Our lawyers routinely work with clients accused of improper conduct, including submission of false claims, improper work product, failure to maintain a satisfactory record of business integrity, and contract defaults. These representations include compliance issues, ranging from Small Business Administration (SBA) requirements, to contract review and comment and negotiation and Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act requirements, as well as the more recent Stimulus Act reporting requirements.
Today more than ever, contractors need to be both efficient and cautious when dealing with government auditors, including the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and various inspectors general offices. These audits have concerned General Services Administration pricing issues, defective pricing, overcharges, accounting methods, and various compliance issues relating to the Foreign Military Financing program. We also have significant experience in addressing investigations conducted by various oversight agencies such as the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to alleged contractor fraud and civil and criminal wrongdoing.
Contract Pricing
Our lawyers help contractors respond to a broad range of pricing issues arising under fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, and sole-source government contracts, including advising clients on the provision of cost or pricing data to the government, helping clients structure cost proposals for submission to the government, counseling clients in connection with defective pricing and disclosure issues, and advising clients regarding price reductions clause in MAS contracts.
Small and Small Disadvantaged Businesses
Our lawyers regularly advise small and small disadvantaged businesses that perform or seek to perform under special government contract programs, including the 8(a) Business Development Program, HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program, women-owned small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and Native American businesses.
We advise clients on size issues, set-aside opportunities, program eligibility, subcontracting plans, negotiations, protests, and litigation. We also counsel small business concerns so they can accomplish their business goals, while remaining eligible for various government contract programs. We also actively represent clients in size and status protests before the SBA and its Office of Hearings and Appeals.
