Holland & Knight's Government Contracts Group invites you to join us for our annual Bid Protest Series. We will present four one-hour webinars discussing bid protests and how to engage strategically and tactically in the process.

The federal government's fiscal year ends on September 30. Historically, federal agencies award hosts of contracts before that date to prevent the funding for those contracts from lapsing. For this reason, now is a good time for government contractors to "brush up" on bid protests and how to protect their interests in the procurement process.

Participants need to register for each program separately. Registration links are listed under the respective program descriptions.

Part 1: Post-Award Protests at GAO – Preserving Opportunities

In Part 1 of our Bid Protest Series, we will focus on the most popular forum for post-award protests – the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). We will review the protest process, the key deadlines, the value of debriefings and the impact of the agency's record.

During this one-hour webinar, we will address:

  • the GAO protest process, including key deadlines
  • remedies available from a protest
  • the role of debriefings in assessing whether a protest is warranted
  • maximizing use of the record
  • typical outcomes of bid protests at GAO, differences between GAO and other protest forums, and how to decide between them

Presenters:

Mary Beth Bosco | Partner, Washington, D.C.
Gregory R. Hallmark | Partner, Tysons

Date/Time:

Tuesday, September 17, 2019
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET

RSVP:

Register for the September 17 program.

Part 2: Protest Intervention – Defending Your Award

In Part 2 of our Bid Protest Series, we will focus on how an awardee can protect itself if a protest of its award is filed.

During this one-hour webinar, we will address:

  • the procedure for intervening in a protest at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC)
  • the role of the intervenor's counsel in protecting proprietary information
  • opportunities available to the intervenor to interact with and support the agency's counsel, raise arguments omitted by the agency, and otherwise provide input and advocacy to persuade the tribunal to deny the protest
  • what to do if the agency decides to take corrective action

Presenters:

Terry L. Elling | Partner, Tysons
Christian B. Nagel | Partner, Tysons

Date/Time:

Thursday, September 19, 2019
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET

RSVP:

Register for the September 19 program.

Part 3: COFC Protests and Special Protest Situations

In Part 3 of our Bid Protest Series, we will focus on a bid protest forum that more and more protesters are utilizing – the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC). We also will cover protest opportunities relating to non-procurement awards, such as Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) awards and awards of federal grants.

During this one-hour webinar, we will address:

  • the procedure for initiating a bid protest at COFC, either following a GAO protest or as an initial protest
  • the procedure for obtaining a preliminary injunction to stay contract performance while the protest is pending
  • access to information through the administrative record and supplementing the administrative record when appropriate
  • challenging agency corrective action or attempt to override the automatic stay in a GAO protest
  • special protest situations, including protests related to OTA awards and federal grants

Presenters:

Robert K. Tompkins | Partner, Washington, D.C.
Eric S. Crusius | Partner, Tysons

Date/Time:

Tuesday, September 24, 2019
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET

RSVP:

Register for the September 24 program.

Part 4: Small Business-Size Protests – Both Prosecuting and Defending

In Part 4 of our Bid Protest Series, we will focus on the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) adjudication of size eligibility protests.

During this one-hour webinar, we will address:

  • the shorter deadlines, procedures and requirements for filing a size protest
  • common grounds of size protests, such as size based on affiliation, defects in mentor-protégé joint venture relationships and the ostensible subcontractor rule
  • the procedure for responding to a size protest, including the completion of SBA's Form 355 and presentation of supporting documentation
  • the procedure for appealing decisions issued by the Area Office to SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals

Presenters:

David S. Black | Partner, Tysons
Robert K. Tompkins | Partner, Washington, D.C.

Date/Time:

Thursday, September 26, 2019
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET

RSVP:

Register for the September 26 program.

Please contact Emily Stover if you have any additional questions.

Continuing Legal Education

Holland & Knight is an approved CLE provider in several jurisdictions, including California, Georgia, Illinois, New York and Texas. All reasonable efforts to seek Ethics CLE credits for this program will be made. In certain instances, some programs may not be awarded CLE credits because of either content or jurisdictional restrictions. For New York attorneys, this program's format qualifies for CLE for transitional (newly admitted) and experienced attorneys.