What Does Ambiguity Mean? Many government contract bidders find the rules of patent ambiguity in solicitations to be very confusing. In many cases, they see the problem when filing a post-award bid protest. The recent decision at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit illustrates how important it… Read more »
Sometimes when the US Court of Federal Claims rules adversely on a motion for judgment upon the administrative record in a bid protest, you can appeal the decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. There are many cases where the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has… Read more »
Do you have a government contract Transition Plan checklist when you bid on federal contracts? Only about 64% of contractors include a vendor transition plan checklist at the proposal development stage. The remaining 36% fail to include a plan simply because the solicitation did not call for one. This is… Read more »
You Can Avoid Common Mistakes and Spending Unnecessary Legal Fees By Understanding the SBA and Government Certificate of Competency (COC) Process. The SBA’s COC Program is governed by the Small Business Act, 15 USC 37(b); 13 CFR 125.5 and FAR Part 19.6. A Government Certificate of Competency is a written document from… Read more »
Simply Depending on Your Experience as an Incumbent Does Not Get the Win When challenging a government contracting agency’s technical evaluation scores as an incumbent contractor, whether for past performance or overall technical approach, you must be mindful that if you are the incumbent contractor, that status alone does not provide… Read more »
Whenever government contractors file a bid protest addressing the government cancellation of solicitation, there are certain considerations they must contemplate. For example, in a recent GAO protest, Matter of: TaxSlayer LLC, the firm protested the Government’s cancellation of the solicitation and GAO did not agree with protestor’s arguments. GAO disagreed… Read more »
Understanding the Difference Between Meaningful Discussions and Unequal Discussions Can Improve Your Chances of Winning Bid Protests A common misunderstanding in analyzing meaningful discussions as compared to unequal discussions in bid protests is the legal application under the FAR and in a bid protest forum such as the GAO. Without a clear understanding, contractors… Read more »
Given the heightened efforts by federal law enforcement agencies to pursue Large DOD contractors and small businesses for violating Buy American Act requirements, companies want to ensure that they avoid criminal and civil liability. When challenging government contract award decisions under Buy American Act FAR 52.225-1, FAR Part 25, DFARS… Read more »
Oftentimes, government contracting agencies attempt to support their cost evaluation methods and ultimate award solely on the cost submitted by the contractor. However, a flawed evaluation can become target to a bid protest at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Cost Evaluation Methods in Cost-Reimbursement Contracts When an agency evaluates pricing… Read more »
When filing a GAO bid protest, it is important to understand that an agency’s source selection plan only provides internal agency guidelines. The plan is generally for the agency’s internal usage and does not by itself give outside parties any rights. The plan typically becomes a highly-relevant topic after the bid protest is filed… Read more »