Government Contracts

Contracting with the federal, state, or local government can present companies with lucrative and cutting-edge opportunities, but there are significant challenges and risks. The seasoned attorneys in this practice provide effective legal guidance in this highly complex arena.

Overview

Our Government Contracts attorneys advise companies selling goods and/or services to federal, state, and local governments on every aspect of the heavily regulated government contracts process. We represent both large, sophisticated government contractors that have been selling goods and services to multiple federal government agencies for decades, as well as small and emerging companies that are new to the government marketplace and are attempting to obtain their first awards. We work with clients from every industry as they navigate the maze of statutes, regulations, and contractual provisions that specify how government contractors must conduct business with their government customers.

Our deep experience in dealing with the legal issues arising in government contracting and our keen understanding of our clients’ businesses and industries enable us to create comprehensive and successful solutions to the increasingly complex problems that companies face when trying to conduct business with the federal government. Our government contracts expertise is strengthened by AGG’s outstanding corporate, white-collar, intellectual property, and employment law attorneys, with whom we work closely to address our clients’ needs proactively and holistically.

Whether a client’s legal need calls for litigation (bid protests, claims, prime-subcontractor disputes), counseling (such as compliance issues, terminations, audits and investigations, Government Services Administration (“GSA”) Schedules, small business issues, the Service Contract Act, the Trade Agreement Act, the Buy American Act, protecting intellectual property in government contracts, to name a few) or transactions (due diligence in mergers and acquisitions involving at least one party which is a government contractor), we have the experience, the know-how, and the relationships to resolve the situation successfully.

Our attorneys are frequently invited to present and publish on topics relating to government contracting and how developments in this area of the law impact both domestic and international businesses.

Experience

  • Successfully represented a client before the U.S. Department of Navy’s (“DON’s”) Suspension and Debarment Official (“SDO”), saving the business from remaining in the General Services Administration’s “Excluded Parties List System” (“EPLS”) database for three years and putting the company out of business. After AGG explained all extenuating circumstances pertaining to the failed deliveries of goods, the SDO agreed to remove her client from the EPLS database. AGG’s client agreed to attend training in the basics of government contracting and to set up a payment plan to refund the DON’s pre-payments. The parties entered into an Administrative Agreement to memorialize the obligations of each party.
  • Successfully secured a $250,000 judgment for a client, a subcontractor, in the Circuit Court for Fairfax County, Virginia. The Complaint asserted breach of contract and unjust enrichment due to the prime contractor’s failure to pay for services rendered by the subcontractor for which the Government had already paid the prime contractor.
  • Represented an officer of a U.S.-listed company in a joint DOJ and SEC FCPA investigation into payments made by a subsidiary in connection with the award of a major government contract in Ecuador. No charges were brought against our client.
  • Successfully concluded a multi-year DOJ investigation involving criminal allegations of multi-million dollar kickbacks, bribes, and false claims that ended in a small, civil settlement.
  • Successfully represented a client by filing a pre-award bid protest filed at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). The protest alleged, among other things, that the solicitation issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in West Palm Beach, Florida (“Agency”) violated the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (“CICA”) because the solicitation called for several proprietary products which only one large healthcare company in the United States could provide. CICA expressly requires agencies to promote competition to the maximum extent possible. Within one week of receipt of the bid protest, the Agency agreed to take corrective action by revising the solicitation in a manner designed to achieve competition. GAO dismissed the protest after the Agency agreed to take such corrective action. The client will now have an opportunity to bid on a five-year contract with the Agency.
  • Drafted Code of Business Ethics and Conduct for a $1 billion company and created an “Ethics Training” PowerPoint presentation for the company’s executive level officers and all salespersons who interacted with federal government personnel.
  • Counseled technology company with regard to the numerous compliance obligations imposed on federal government contractors and described the penalty associated with the failure to comply with or blatant misconduct of each of the listed compliance obligations.
  • Counseled the U.S. subsidiary of a $1 billion company based in the United Kingdom with regard to the compliance obligations of the Buy American Act and Trade Agreements Act imposed on the U.S. subsidiary due to sales of its services to the federal government both on and off its GSA Schedule.
  • Drafted and edited numerous teaming agreements and subcontract agreements for a technology company serving as a subcontractor to multiple large systems integrators which hold prime contracts with various federal agencies.
  • Performed due diligence focused specifically on a Target Company’s multiple government contracts on behalf of a client, the purchaser of such Target Company.
  • Representation of a Fortune 50 company in a bid protest before the Government Accountability Office in a multi-party bid protest challenging the award by the Department of Justice of a contract valued at approximately $500 million to another bidder.
  • Represented client in successful price negotiations involving cost or pricing data for a $250 million follow-on subcontract to provide materials to a large prime contractor managing and operating a U.S. national security site.
  • Successfully represented federal government contractor in the process of submitting a Novation Agreement to the General Services Administration, resulting in the novation of the company’s GSA Schedule from one corporate entity to another.
  • Represented federal government contractor investigated by the U.S. Government for potential civil and criminal violations of the False Claims Act and False Statements Act.
  • Successfully represented a $1 billion technology company in three successive claims against the Government, avoiding time-consuming and expensive litigation by negotiating settlements favorable to our client in each case.
  • Successfully represented a small technology company in obtaining a 20-year contract with the General Services Administration; such contract is referred to as a “GSA Schedule.” Drafted Memorandum of Law for the company outlining compliance obligations imposed on federal government contractors holding GSA Schedules.
    Client Successes

    News & Insights

    View More

    Related Services

    Primary Contacts
    View All Professionals