Washington D.C. Attorney Navigates Clients Through GAO Bid Protests

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) receives thousands of bid protests each year. In 2016, protests were effective 46% of the time. The effectiveness rate includes protests sustained by the GAO, as well as protests in which the agency undertook corrective action.

In order to convince an agency to take corrective action or the GAO to sustain a protest, a contractor must secure strong legal representation – an attorney who has extensive and specific experience in federal contracting litigation.

The Whay Law Firm is conveniently located in the Washington, DC area, in close proximity to the Court of Federal Claims and the GAO. As a government contract law firm, the Whay Law Firm helps businesses with protests, claims, subcontracts, teaming agreements, understanding the FAR, and all other government contract issues.

GAO Bid Protest Regulations (4 CFR Part 21)

Bid protests at the GAO are subject to stringent regulations, as well as a body of case law that has developed over the past several decades. Whether you are interested in filing a bid protest, or you are the awardee that wants to intervene in a bid protest, we can help you protect your interests during the protest process. As a government contracts law firm, the Whay Law Firm can assist you in understanding the rules, regulations, and cases that apply to your GAO bid protest.

For instance, GAO protests are subject to strict timeliness rules. Generally, a protester has 10 days to file their protest. However, it is very important to understand when the 10-day clock starts running. In addition, under certain circumstances, you may be able to stop performance of the awarded contract if the protest is filed early enough.

Obtaining Successful Bid Protests

The Whay Law Firm helps contractors avoid costly legal mistakes. Filing a GAO protest without the legal guidance of a government contract protest attorney is risky and exposes the contractor to having their protest dismissed or overlooking important grounds of protest. Ultimately, for success you require an attorney who knows how to seek out any mistakes made by the agency or prove the agency acted unreasonably and failed to comply with procurement law.

Protesting the Terms of the Solicitation

If you believe there is a problem with the solicitation, you must protest the issue prior to the due date for proposals, quotes, or bids. If you wait to see if you win the procurement, it will be too late to challenge the terms of the solicitation. Common solicitation problems include overly restrictive terms, conflicting or ambiguous terms, using the wrong NAICS code, and failing to set-aside the procurement for small businesses.