A poorly developed size protest can do more than lose a procurement challenge. It can reinforce a competitor’s eligibility, expose weaknesses in the protestor’s legal strategy, and leave the agency record populated with sworn evidence that is difficult to overcome on appeal. That is the central lesson from Size Appeal… Read more »
If you handle federal set-aside work, the Nisou Enterprises decision is worth reading closely. In Size Appeal of Nisou Enterprises, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-6380 (2026), OHA did not say the challenged contractor was definitely small. What OHA did say is just as important: SBA’s Area Office made critical legal and… Read more »
For service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), holding a federal contract is a privilege—but it comes with heavy scrutiny. What happens when your SDVOSB status is challenged not just in a bid protest, but during a False Claims Act investigation or even a criminal indictment for SDVOSB fraud? That’s not a… Read more »
Act quickly if you are under investigation or worried about violating Buy American Act BAA certification compliance requirements. Theodore P Watson, Esq – Practice Leader This section is only written to provide information to small businesses and larger federal government contractors regarding common issues and questions raised about the Buy American… Read more »
Deciding on whether to file a Court of Federal Claims bid protest versus GAO protest or the agency-level protest can be tricky too many government contractors. At the end of the day, many contractors seeking to save revenues worth millions of dollars find that closing bridges or giving up rights… Read more »
Understand the SDVOSB certification rules when your status challenged in a bid protest or you may lose millions in government contracts. One of the most challenging experiences as a service disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB business) is to defend against the status of your company in a bid protest. There… Read more »
Are You Qualified to File an SBA Size Protest? Minimize the chance of getting your case thrown out. An SBA size protest is a legal challenge to the agency’s decision to award a government contract because of the awardee’s alleged small business size violation. Specifically, the protestor challenges the awardee… Read more »
Many solicitations require that the offeror must submit and SBA approved mentor protégé agreement at bid submission. Other federal government solicitations require the mentor protégé agreement to be approved before the award. In the recent case of Size Appeal of North Wind Site Services, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5988 (2019), which was an… Read more »
Never Guess At the SBA Affiliation Rules, You May be Wrong. SBA joint venture rules can be confusing the say the least. Yet, many companies tend to roll the dice and then late become subject to a small business size protest and lose the profits and revenues from the awarded… Read more »
CPARS Ratings, Fapiis Past Performance and Contractor Integrity Data – What Every Federal Government Contractor Needs to Know By Cheryl E. Adams, Esq. The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS Rating Scale) exists to provide government source selection officials (SSOs) with a variety of types of information that SSOs need… Read more »