Bid Protests
In a perfect world, a government contractor could seamlessly transition from proposal to award to contract performance without delay or dispute. However, disputes surrounding the government contract award process are common, and most government contractors will be involved in a bid-related dispute.
Given this reality, federal contractors must understand the intricacies of the bid protest process to defend their contract awards and to assert their rights as a protester.
What Issues Can I Protest?
Government contract bid protests can be challenged in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) or before the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Occasionally, a protest can also be filed directly with the procuring agency or the Small Business Association.
There is a full range of issues that can be raised before these tribunals, including:
- Defective solicitations, such as restrictive specifications, omission of a required provision, vague contract requirements, and ambiguous evaluation factors;
- Failure to follow the award process;
- Failure to follow the criteria set forth in the request for proposals;
- Disparate treatment of offerors;
- Solicitation cancellations;
- Late and unresponsive bids;
- Integrity and fraud issues;
- Small business issues:
- Technical evaluations;
- Cost and pricing issues; and
- Best value determinations, including cost/technical tradeoffs.
The FPG government contracts team assists contractors in successfully protesting a bid award. If your company is in a position where a bid protest would be beneficial, contact our office today.
Why You Need A Bid Protests Attorney
If you recently submitted a government bid that was rejected, you may have grounds to file a bid protest for review and reconsideration. The experienced legal team at Federal Practice Group can walk you through the process and do the heavy lifting.
The deadline for filing a bid protest is brief and strict. It’s critical to act as soon as you receive the rejection, as you typically only have days from the date of your notice to take legal action. Your bid protests attorney can ensure that all deadlines are met and that each document and submission is correct and complete so no errors or omissions delay the process or cause your claim to be rejected.
A bid protest is a legal challenge to the government’s decision to award a contract for goods or services to another bidder or a challenge to the terms of a procurement contract. Parties filing a bid protest have a few different forums to file the protest; understanding which one is most advantageous can be challenging in a process that’s already challenging to secure a positive outcome.
Our firm has comprehensive knowledge and insight into the government bidding process to carefully select your company’s proper bid protest forum. We use our decades of combined experience to develop a solid plan to appeal the decision and present it according to the regulations and protocol of the chosen forum. Contact our firm today to speak with a bid protests attorney, and act soon so you don’t miss that crucial deadline for filing.
Skilled Bid Protest Advocacy At All Levels
Most government contractors file a bid protest in one of these three forums:
Agency-Level Bid Protests. If your budget is tight, an agency-level bid protest may be the most cost-effective way to file a complaint about a competitor’s misrepresented, unfair, or erroneous contract bid. We often use this method to appeal an irregularity in the solicitation (pre-bid) or appeal the decision of who the bid was awarded to (post-bid). It’s less formal than the other methods of filing a bid protest. We deal directly with the agency you’d be contracting with.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Protests. The primary benefit of filing a GAO protest is that it includes an automatic stay of contract performance, per the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA). We often use this forum to contest the reason for the bid denial, but it must be filed within ten days of the awarding agency’s decision. We may also use this method if the government agency violated the procurement regulations laws.
Bid Protests at the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) are the most complex and time-consuming types of bid protests. A COFC protest may give you a second bite at the apple if your agency protest or GAO appeal is denied. We also use the COFC forum if there are complex legal issues involved, those that rightly should be adjusted in a federal court.
Contact Us Today – Time Is Short
With such a short deadline to file a protest either pre- or post-bid, it’s crucial to retain the counsel of an experienced bid protests attorney. Contact the Federal Practice Group today so we can get to work immediately.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Government contracting refers to the process through which federal, state, or local government agencies purchase goods and services from private businesses or individuals to fulfill their operational needs and public services.
Government contracting is regulated by various laws and regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), agency-specific regulations, the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), the False Claims Act, and various socio-economic programs.
The FAR is a set of rules and guidelines issued by the federal government that govern the acquisition process for all executive agencies. It covers various aspects of contracting, including procurement procedures, contract administration, and contractor responsibilities.
We assist clients by reviewing and understanding relevant regulations, ensuring they have appropriate policies and procedures in place, providing training on compliance, and conducting internal audits to identify and address potential issues.
A bid protest is a formal complaint filed by a bidder or offeror who believes that a government procurement process was conducted unfairly, improperly, or in violation of procurement laws and regulations.