By Grace Mahan Because a high level of detail allows for substantive comparison between different bids, it is important both in securing contract awards and in the process of protesting awards after unsuccessful bids. A recent GAO protest ruling, Beacon Grace, LLC, recently highlighted the importance of detail in the government contract bidding process. In...
Category: Government Contracts
The Danger of the “Plug Number” and a Simple Strategy to Avoid Death by Mistake
By Grace Mahan Ideally, prospective contractors make bids for government contracts without error. However, whether because of a clerical oversight or off-the-mark subcontractor bids, mistakes do occur. Often, errors in bids for government contracts result in the forced removal of a bid, or worse, the retroactive reversal of an award. However, as highlighted by a...
A Change That Would Simplify and Improve SBA’s HUBZone Program
By Carol L. O’Riordan A HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) is a geographic area that benefits from a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) program that was established in 1998. The program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. The SBA regulates and implements the HUBZone program by...
Our Latest Article: When Desperate Situations Call for Immediate and Targeted Response
Managing Partner Carol L. O’Riordan recently wrote an article in the National Law Review about how small law firms can bring in former government employees and other specialists to help them in their government contracts cases, especially suspension and debarment cases, thus serving their clients better and reducing costs. The article describes a distinctly new...
Good News for Small Businesses — Primes and Subs — on Federal Contracts
By Pamela J. Bethel We have good news for small businesses that contract with the federal government. The government’s policy encouraging prompt payment to small business subcontractors has been extended to December 31, 2017. In a memorandum issued on January 11, 2017, by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB Director Shaun Donovan ordered that the...
SBA Rule Allows Prime Contractors to Claim Credit for Small Lower-Tier Subcontractors
By Taimur Rabbani The Small Business Administration recently issued a rule to allow a large, prime government contractor with an individual subcontracting plan to receive small-business credit for subcontracts issued to small businesses at any tier. The rule has significant implications for businesses performing on unrestricted federal contracts – at all tiers. The final rule,...
Appeals Court Upholds 8(a) Program Against Constitutional Challenge
By Pamela J. Bethel The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has upheld the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) business development program, which provides for contracting preferences to small business owners, against a constitutional challenge that the program involves impermissible racial classifications. The decision in Rothe Development, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Defense and...
New SBA Mentor-Protégé Program Creates Opportunities for Small Business
On July 25, 2016, the federal Small Business Administration issued a final rule – effective August 24, 2016 – establishing a mentor-protégé program for all small business concerns. Although this new program resembles the existing mentor-protégé program for 8(a) firms, it is a distinct program that permits all small business concerns to participate in mentor-protégé...
O’Riordan Bethel Wins Key Ruling on Veteran-Owned Business Set-Asides
Here is an interesting and important bid protest case that a team from O’Riordan Bethel won earlier this year in the Small Business Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. The holding of the case was that a mentor-protégé joint venture formed under Section 8(a) does not qualify for a set-aside as a service-disabled veteran-owned small...
Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Reap Big Win at U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on June 16 that when Congress wrote “shall,” it meant “shall.” The result of its decision in Kingdomware Technologies Inc. v. United States will have major implications for the federal contracting efforts of veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) and may well give VOSBs a big boost in their constant efforts...