When an agency makes an award to the incumbent, the disappointed offerors often believe that the incumbent’s performance of the previous contract must have given it an impermissible leg up on the competition in the form of an...more
Even when agencies use simplified acquisition procedures, they generally must maximize competition to the extent practicable. There is, however, an exception to this default rule if only one source is reasonably available...more
If the first rule of proposal writing is “give the agency the information it asks for,” the most important corollary is “make the proposal easy to understand.” In other words, clarity and consistency is key; avoid anything in...more
Just as in golf swings, your follow-through in Government Accountability Office (GAO) protests can mean the difference between success and failure. And if you don’t have a solid argument to bolster your protest grounds, you...more
Ideally, an agency’s solicitation would provide comprehensive information about its requirements so that interested offerors each had what they needed to craft their best response to the agency’s actual needs. Such a...more
Sometimes the most basic rules can be the easiest to forget. One case in point relates to the key role of competitive prejudice in successful protests. No matter how often contractors hear it, this reality bears repeating,...more
3/6/2020
/ Bid Protests ,
Competition ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Diminution in Value ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Leases ,
Office Space ,
Unfair Prejudice ,
Value Statements
Contractors whose protests result in the challenged agency’s taking corrective action may attempt to recover their protest costs, particularly when they feel that the corrective action was unduly delayed....more
2/28/2020
/ Bid Protests ,
Bid Solicitation ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Corrective Actions ,
Cost Recovery ,
Delays ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FBI ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reimbursements ,
Service Contracts ,
Small Business
When an agency announces its intent to take corrective action in response to a protest, it’s easy for the protester to feel that it has “won”—and to some extent it has. At the very least, its protest has prompted the agency...more
Given how much emphasis federal procurement law properly places on fairness, it can be easy to assume that government buyers must do everything necessary to ensure a fair procurement....more
When the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was enacted, the prohibition in Section 813(c) against the use of lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection criteria seemed fairly cut and dry. As...more
11/20/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Bid Solicitation ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Information Technology ,
LPTA ,
NDAA ,
Orders of Prohibition ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Statutory Violations ,
Technology Sector ,
US Air Force
Given the broad discretion afforded to agencies when they decide to take corrective action in response to a protest, it sometimes seems like challenges to a corrective action are destined to fail. The Government...more
Disappointed offerors sometimes attempt to challenge contract awards by arguing that the agency did not properly take into account a particular aspect of their proposals. As the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO)...more