Government Contracts

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Overview

Focused expertise backed by decades of experience
As litigators, we regularly prosecute Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claims before courts and boards of contract appeals, and we work with our clients from preparation and submission of the certified claim through final judgment, including appeals. We also work with our clients during contract performance to manage risk and consider alternatives to formal litigation. Consistent with this approach, we advise clients on contract interpretation and performance requirements, negotiate with agency contract officials during contract administration, prepare Requests for Equitable Adjustment, and negotiate contract modification terms.

We also have a robust bid protest practice. When presented with a potential protest, we quickly mobilize and work with our clients to examine the solicitation requirements and the proposal and to identify potential protest grounds. We also offer advice through the debriefing process. Before filing, we ensure that our clients understand the protest process and potential outcomes, including all avenues for obtaining meaningful "corrective action," as well as the legal and business implications of "suing the client."

Because our clients include a significant number of small businesses, we are experienced in litigating size and status protests before the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals. Similar to Government Accountability Office (GAO) protests, successful prosecution and defense of SBA size and status protests require strict adherence to protest procedures and timelines, as well as expertise in substantive procurement law. We regularly advise small-business contractors with respect to compliance with all SBA government contracting programs, including 8(a) SBCs, WOSBs, HUBZONE SBCs, and SDVOSBs. This includes advice and counseling with respect to compliance with small-business subcontracting and joint-venture rules. Our working knowledge and expertise with SBA regulations make us effective advocates when business size or status is challenged.

As counselors, we seek to understand our clients' strategic business plans so that our advice and counseling always promotes your short- and long-term business goals and objectives. Government contractors are subject to a complex, rigorous, and often unforgiving regulatory structure and enforcement environment. Our government contracts attorneys have decades of collective experience and wisdom navigating this environment. We strive to be a member of your leadership team – and to be accessible and responsive in providing sound and reliable counsel so that legal considerations are fully integrated into your business plans and problems are anticipated before they arise. As discussed in greater detail below, we offer advice across a broad spectrum of substantive issues confronting companies involved in public procurement.

As thought leaders, we study, write, and speak about emerging areas of government contract law and are actively involved in the legal, industry, and trade organizations that represent or otherwise affect our clients' businesses. These organizations include the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition, the Associated General Contractors, the National Contract Management Association, and the American Bar Association's Section of Public Contract Law and Forum on Construction Law. Government contract law is complex and ever-changing. Through our active participation in the government contracts community, our attorneys promote and influence that change on behalf of our clients.

Your complete, integrated legal solution
Traditional government contracts matters often intersect with other specialized areas of practice. As a full-service firm, our government contracts attorneys work closely with our construction, corporate, white-collar, labor and employment, benefits, tax, environmental, intellectual property, energy, insurance, land use, and real estate attorneys to provide integrated and efficient and cost-effective legal solutions for our clients.

Industry and Focus Areas

Our primary industries and expert focus areas include:

Alaska Native Corporations

Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) pursuing and performing government contracts are subject to specific, if not unique, rules and regulations. In both our Anchorage and Seattle offices, we have specialists who work in Alaska, understand these frequently evolving legal authorities, and regularly advise ANC clients on issues such as 8(a) compliance, teaming agreements, joint-venture agreements, the ostensible subcontractor rule, NAICS code management, corporate and subsidiary structuring, and, more broadly, affiliation under SBA regulations.

Ethics, Compliance, and Investigations

Even a contractor with the most comprehensive compliance and ethics plan may need to answer for the actions of a rogue employee involved in questionable or potentially fraudulent conduct. We frequently provide complex, specialized, in-house procurement and ethics training for our clients. We also handle complex government fraud and FCA investigations, including for clients facing concurrent criminal, civil, and administrative "parallel proceedings." We have negotiated global dispositions of serious matters involving multiple government agencies and both civil and criminal enforcement proceedings.

Bid Protests

We have extensive experience representing disappointed bidders, intervenors, and agencies in defending their award decisions and procurement processes. We appear most frequently before the Court of Federal Claims and GAO, handling protests involving a range of substantive issues, including unequal discussions, responsibility, improper price/technical tradeoff, bias, conflicts of interest, cost realism, and departure from stated evaluation criteria.

Construction Counseling and Litigation

We advise prime and subcontractors representing numerous trades on a range of public construction projects nationwide, with a focus on military housing, military facility renovation, heavy civil construction, wastewater projects, open cut projects, treatment and pump station facilities, hydro and dam projects, port projects, and other major military infrastructure projects. We litigate construction claims under the FAR remedy granting clauses. We frequently advise our clients on which remedy is most favorable given the particular factual scenario.

Mergers and Acquisitions

We utilize our considerable government contracts experience and expertise to help our clients minimize risk and maximize value in M&A transactions.

Services include:

  • Comprehensive due diligence reviews
  • Advice and counseling on government contract compliance and performance issues
  • Guidance through the novation process
  • Assistance with negotiation of terms in the underlying transaction
  • Addressing subcontracting issues
  • Drafting transaction documents to ensure compliance
*Denotes an attorney's experience prior to joining Davis Wright Tremaine
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Our Team

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