Contract Disputes Act of 1978 and Claims Against the Government

Contractors often face harsh consequences when filing federal government Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claims against the government. Despite getting the benefit of your work, the contracting officer (CO) will often deny your claim just because the claim itself did not meet the CDA requirements or you did not provide the… Read more »

In Privity of Contract in Government Procurement

Avoid costly legal mistakes with prime contractor subcontractor in privity of contract relationships in federal procurement. As a subcontractor to federal government procurement, you may often find yourself wondering what is the lack of privity of contract rule for government relationships with subcontractors and why the Contracting Officer, or even… Read more »

FAR Best Value Trade Off Analysis Definition

Some contractors find it confusing when protesting the government’s best value trade off analysis. Without having a basic understanding of the agency’s discretion compared to what the procurement regulations require, your bid protest could be at risk. Get a second bite at the apple! Without a proper understanding, contractors quickly find… Read more »

FAR Small Business Subcontracting Plan Requirements

It is common practice in federal government proposal writing process for you to meet FAR small business subcontracting plan requirements (FAR 52.219-9)or, in the most recent cases, small business participation plans. The question is how do you write one that withstands bid protest scrutiny or potentially gets higher scores than your… Read more »

Size Appeals and The SBA Ostensible Subcontractor Rule

The SBA Ostensible Subcontractor Rule is a potent sword used to extinguish contract awards to government contractors. Small businesses must be extremely careful when submitting proposals that intend to use incumbent employees. This can be fertile ground for an SBA size appeal under the Ostensible Subcontractor Rule. The SBA Ostensible… Read more »

SBA Size Appeals – Affiliation & Newly Organized Concern Rule

When you are faced with a SBA size appeal and small business size standard determination based upon affiliation and common ownership, small businesses must be very careful when forming spin- off companies and where there are corresponding majority and minority ownership interest in both companies. When there are substantial amounts… Read more »

Government Proposal Templates – Avoid Costly Mistakes

A substantial amount of contractors look to find quick and easy government proposal templates on the Internet when responding to government solicitations. However, there has been at least one GAO case where the government stated that the proposal template used did not mirror the solicitation requirements. Using templated responses increase… Read more »