Aggressively protecting the protest rights of government contractors

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If you are been notified that you were the unsuccessful bidder, you might believe that the award was unlawful. You may want to file a GAO bid protest or protest to the agency. Given the short deadlines, you want an bid protest attorney that has in-depth experience in federal procurement law. Business owners seek law firms that understand the rules and what it actually takes to prevail. Understanding the rules of engagement and meeting the short deadlines may be a challenge.

The bid protest law firm of Watson & Associates frequently assists government contractors analyze, file or defend bid protest actions.  Our comprehensive of experience in government contracting comes from 40 years of combined experience among our staff. The law firm has gained a reputation as the go-to firm for meticulous advice, aggressive representation of contractors' rights. We provide in-depth legal analysis of the solicitation, derive the case law that supports your poisition, and file a complete bid protest on your behalf. We are known for our thorougness and completeness in the bid protest process.  Given that bid protesting can be very tricky, we provide you with thorough analysis and prompt legal authority to support your position. Contact us immediately to protect your rights. Call us toll free at 1-866-601-5518.

Our services include: 

• Bid protest analysis
• Filing a GAO protest or agency level protest on your behalf
• Bid protest intervention (protest defense)
• Filing motions and discovery matters
• Protective orders on behalf of protestors
• Bid protest appeals
• Size determination protests and appeals

As a small government contracting law firm we offer the same level of representation as expensive Washington, DC law firms but at more competitive rates. We also offer:

• Flat rates;
• Free initial consultation; and
• Candid and honest advice. 

Contractors now want to know whether or not they have a bid protest with sound merit. With us, you get straight answers and aggressive representation.

We have handled protest matters relating to such matters as:

• A challenge to the award of a $53 million contract for products to DOD
• An $8 million contract for the printing and copying services
• Justification of sole source contracts and improper awards
• Size determinations and appeal for janitorial contract based upon affiliation
• Bid protest for violation of the Buy American Act
• Bid protest of $34 million contract for aviation and aircraft parts

Generically, our law firm has handled GAO bid protests involving the following types of recurring issues:

• Non-responsive bids
• Pre-award protest (improper NAICS Code and overly restrictive)
• The Government’s unequal treatment of bidders
• Bid mistakes
• The Government’s failure to conduct meaningful discussions
• Best value procurements, including cost/technical trade-offs
• Cost and/or price realism analyses
• Past performance evaluations
• Organizational and/or personal conflicts of interest
• Restrictive specifications
• Deviations from the announced evaluation criteria
• Unbalanced bidding
• Cardinal changes
• Failure to consider information submitted in your bid proposal
• Improper technical evaluations
• Unsupported trade-off decisions
• Failure to properly apply evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation
• Failure to conduct meaningful discussions
• Conflict of interest
• Unduly restrictive solicitations
• Improper best value determinations …and more.

GAO Protest Information

Call us for immediate representation at 1-866-601-5518.

Only an interested party can file a GAO bid protest: Interested party means an actual or prospective bidder or offeror whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of a contract or by the failure to award a contract.

If you are the successful bidder, you should protect your interest as an intervenor: Intervenor means an awardee if the award has been made or, if no award has been made, all bidders or offerors who appear to have a substantial prospect of receiving an award if the protest is denied.

Time for filing. The GAO bid protest rules state that:

(a)(1) Protests based upon alleged improprieties in a solicitation which are apparent prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals shall be filed prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals. In procurements where proposals are requested, alleged improprieties which do not exist in the initial solicitation but which are subsequently incorporated into the solicitation must be protested not later than the next closing time for receipt of proposals following the incorporation.

(2) Protests other than those covered by paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall be filed not later than 10 days after the basis of protest is known or should have been known (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. In such cases, with respect to any protest basis which is known or should have been known either before or as a result of the debriefing, the initial protest shall not be filed before the debriefing date offered to the protester, but shall be filed not later than 10 days after the date on which the debriefing is held.

Time for decision by GAO:GAO shall issue a decision on a protest within 100 days after it is filed.

Withholding of award and suspension of contract performance:Where a protest is filed with GAO, the agency may be required to withhold award and to suspend contract performance. The requirements for the withholding of award and the suspension of contract performance are set forth in 31 U.S.C. 3553(c) and (d); GAO does not administer the requirements to stay award or suspend contract performance under CICA at 31 U.S.C. 3553(c) and (d). 

Size Protests, Size Determinations, and Appeals

Avoiding the dangerous road of Affiliation - Call 1-866-601-5518 for help today

Oftentimes a bid protest may be filed if there is reason to believe that there is improper affiliation with a subcontractor. This is commonly referred to as a Size Protest or Size Determination. If you are faced with this problem, our bid protest lawyers can provide legal representation. The impact can be crippling if you attempt to handle this on your own.

Size protests are resolved through the SBA and not GAO. The deadlines are shorter and a representation can be essential to the outcome.

Who can make a size protest?

·       Unsuccessful Offeror

·       Contracting Officer

·       SBA Government Contracting Area Office

·       Other Interested Parties

·       Other Government Officials

Do I need to have the protest in a certain format?

There is no format for a protest. If submitting a size protest, one must identify the business and its operators and provide additional information to supplement the claim. In addition, a protest should be filed as soon as possible and include the procurement and specific facts that relate to the size of the business.

Size Determination

The appropriate area office makes the initial size determination after a size protest. They are given a very tight time constraint (usually within 10 days of receiving a protest).

The SBA has compiled a list of business entities that the Office of Government Contracting has determined are other than small under specific size standards. To access the list, go to Businesses Determined Other Than Small.

Area office determinations may be appealed to the Office of Hearings and Appeals at SBA headquarters in Washington, D.C., by any of the interested parties.

Size Protest and Appeals

An appeal for a size determination must begin by serving and filing an appeal petition in writing. The following lists the basic rules for appeals:

·       If the appeal is for a size determination in a procurement or pending government property sale, then the appeal petition must be served and filed within 15 calendar days after the size determination was made.

·       If the appeal is for a size determination other than one in a pending procurement or pending government property sale, then the appeal petition must be served and filed within 30 calendar days after the size determination was made.

·       An untimely appeal will be dismissed.

The Office of Hearing and Appeal will do a standard review of the appeal, issue a decision containing the facts and the conclusion that was made based on the appeal, and notify in writing all parties involved. This is the final decision of the SBA.

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