Bid Protest Attorneys

GAO and Court of Federal Claims  Bid Protest Attorneys Helping Clients to Minimize or Avoid Costly Disputes

Procurement contracting agencies do make mistakes/ We help to uncover those mistakes during bid protest litigation.

 The federal marketplace is very competitive and challenging. After spending thousands of dollars bidding on government contract bids, you find that your award has been challenged in a post-award bid protest or that your firm as the unsuccessful offer intends to file a bid protest against the government agency.  

At some point in your government contracting experience, you will more than likely go through the federal bid protest process. You may easily decide to have your company challenge the terms of the solicitation or intervene in the litigation because you want to defend contracts awarded to your company.

Bid Protest Filing Deadlines

Bid protest regulations have very short timelines.  Many government contract protest litigants spend thousands of dollars arguing about filing deadlines and timeliness disputes. Basic bid protest regulations state that if your bid protest challenges the contents and improprieties in the agency’s solicitation then your deadline is before bid opening or before the time set for receipt of initial proposals. See 4 CFR 21.2(a)(1).

Bid protest filing timelines in all other cases must be filed not later than 10 days after the protester knew or should have known the basis of protest (whichever is earlier), with the exception of protests challenging a procurement conducted on the basis of competitive proposals under which a debriefing is ‟requested and, when requested, is required,” that is, a debriefing required by law. See also information about SDVOSB bid protests.

• If you have timely requested a “required debriefing” then you must file your initial protest no later than 10 days after the date on which the debriefing was held. See 4 CFR 21.2(a)(2).
• Deadlines at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) could initiate an automatic stay of the procurement. Whereas, a Court of Federal Claims bid protest would not present an automatic stay.

Watson & Associates’ government bid protest attorneys frequently represent small businesses and larger sized federal contractors by pursuing or defending bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC bid protests), or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Small Business Administration, and SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (SBA OHA bid protests). We have also represented clients in agency-level protests.

As a boutique-sized, veteran-owned law firm, we work closely with corporate management to assess the potential allegations and if the potential bid protest has merit. We also look at the most cost-efficient method to proceed while balancing the case law and court decisions for the possibility of getting a winning protest decision.

Watson & Associates government contracts practice group has handled protests involving best value determinations, past performance evaluations, improper discussions, and overly restrictive solicitations.  At the SBA level, our bid protest lawyers handle a wide variety of small business size standard disputes including affiliation, improper teaming agreements, and joint venture arrangements and appeals to the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.

Bid Protest Filing Forum

Agency Level Protests

This is the most likely the least expensive option to file a government contract protest. However, it is arguably the least rated for getting a winning decision.

GAO Protests

Filing a bid protest at GAO is more expensive for government contractors. There is a ten-day timeline to file and there is an automatic stay provision.  GAO typically makes a decision in 100 days.

Court of Federal Claims Bid Protests

The more expensive method of filing a government contract protest is at the Court of Federal Claims. Watson’s bid protest attorneys litigate protests at this court. There is no statutory filing deadline. However, an intervenor cannot wait unreasonably long before intervening in the case.

At Watson & Associates, our government bid protest attorneys also understand that sometimes it is not in the contractor’s best interests to litigate a contract award. When weighing the pros and cons, we simply consult with our clients about the possibility of impacting an important business relationship with the contracting agency.

With over 30 years of federal marketplace experience, we work closely with our clients on issues such as conflict of interests, sole-source awards, small business set-aside decisions and more.

Bid Protest Appeals (Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit Lawyers)

When you file a bid protest at the Court of Federal Claims, if the court issues an adverse decision, you can appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

This type of bid protest appeal is not intended to relitigate the merits of the case. Instead, you must show where the lower court committed legal and reversible error.

At Watson & Associates, our government contract protest lawyers and federal circuit court bid protest appeal attorneys represent government contractors at this level where the stakes are high and there may be a serious legal error in the lower court’s record.

Contact Watson’s Government Contract Bid Protest Attorneys

Get immediate help. To discuss your situation or to protest federal government contract awards with one of the best bid protest law firms that understand small business issues, call Watson & Associates’ COFC and GAO government contract bid protest attorneys at 1-866-601-5518. We represent clients in all states and overseas.