BID PROTESTS, LATEST DEVELOPMENTS & TWISTS -
Bid Protests: Agenda -
1. LOGCAP V and Task/Delivery Order Protest Jurisdiction
2. SpaceX and Other Transaction Authority Protest Jurisdiction
3. Potential Impact of New...more
In this post, we not only provide our regular recap of key protest decisions from December 2018, but also discuss some of the key decisions from 2018 as well as a few take-aways from the GAO’s Fiscal Year 2018 report on its...more
Most corporate transactions go forward without protests. Several prominent protest decisions over the last few years, however, have drawn attention to the complicated and sometimes unpredictable effect corporate transactions...more
Today’s installment of the post-award protest primer combines two frequent, related protest grounds: (1) unreasonable evaluations and source selection decisions and (2) insufficient documentation. In a future post, we’ll...more
On this blog, we frequently discuss the various timeliness traps that can undermine bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). A recent bid protest decision from the Court of Federal Claims addresses a...more
Offerors should, and generally do, carefully guard the confidentiality of their bid and proposal information. And agencies that receive that information generally are careful to prevent its improper release, much as they...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) will cut the ribbon on its Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS) on May 1, 2018, according to a final rule published Monday (at 83 Fed. Reg. 13817). The electronic filing...more
The bait-and-switch in the salesman’s world involves enticing a prospective customer with an unbelievably good deal, only to switch it at the last moment with a bargain that is considerably less attractive to the buyer, and...more
Coming on the heels of a decision presenting two timeliness reminders, which we addressed in “GAO Presents a Study in Timeliness Traps,” the GAO once again issued a decision last week presenting a third timeliness trap of...more
In a decision released on Friday, February 23, 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provided further demonstration of the bid protest – timeliness traps that may ensnare the wary and unwary alike. In Savannah...more
Earlier this month, the GAO announced that its long-awaited electronic protest docketing system (EPDS) is now operational and undergoing limited pilot testing with certain designated protests filed since February 1. EPDS is...more
With the 2018 Government shutdown entering the work week, any contractors with ongoing or potential protests may be wondering what the effect of the shutdown will be on the protest process....more
The RAND Corporation’s much-awaited report assessing bid protests of Department of Defense (DOD) procurements is out. The report fulfills a Congressional mandate in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2017...more
Today we’ll consider Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCIs) as a ground of protest. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) defines an OCI as a situation where “because of other activities or relationships with other...more
On November 9, 2017, Congress released its conference report on the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA coming out of the conference committee contains numerous provisions that would affect government...more
Today’s post is the first of two installments on protest grounds related to discussions. This post will focus on the requirement that discussions be meaningful and not misleading, and treat offerors equally. The next post...more
This week we’ll discuss two protest arguments that are, in some ways, two sides of the same coin: unstated evaluation criteria and waived or relaxed solicitation requirements. In each, the focus of the protest is on what...more
This is the first in a short series of forecasts from our Government Contracts partners on things to watch for in government contracts in Fiscal Year 2018. For more in-depth discussions of current events and trends, please...more
Having discussed protest grounds you cannot or should not raise, we turn now to the first in a series of grounds that could result in a sustained protest: Latent Ambiguities and Non-Apparent Solicitation Defects....more
In our last post, we discussed a few procedural rules that can exclude an otherwise meritorious ground from protest. There are also a number of substantive issues that the GAO’s rules exclude from review. See 4 C.F.R. §...more
Before diving into the various protest grounds that may result in a sustained protest at the GAO, let’s look at some sure losers. These are issues that are not protestable and would likely result in a quick dismissal. This...more
Today we’ll discuss stays of award and performance during the pendency of a bid protest. There are two kinds of protest stays: pre-award stays and post-award stays. Although the former are outside the scope of this primer,...more
Post-award protests generally involve arguments about confidential, source-selection sensitive information – proprietary bid and proposal material, past performance data, cost and pricing information, nonpublic agency...more
Part 4: Bid Protest Remedies -
We’ve discussed debriefings and the timelines and timeliness rules that apply to post-award protests. Today we’ll discuss remedies. If you file a protest to challenge a contract award and...more
Part 3: Timeliness and Timelines -
Now that we’ve discussed the award letter and debriefings, we’ll move on to next steps: timeliness of initial protest filings and the protest timeline. In the context of all post-award...more