Practical Guidance for Contractor Counsel Considering a Bid Protest

It's Friday afternoon and your client's business unit just lost its biggest contract opportunity of the year. The team thought it had a strong proposal. What's next for the business? Can they request a debriefing? How should they coordinate between the business unit and the legal team to gather information? When must they decide on a protest, and what matters? After a notice of contract award and similar contract actions, lawyers for contractors must be prepared to answer these types of questions against tight deadlines for exercising rights involving evaluation information, protests, and potential relief. The best-prepared attorneys will not just know the applicable legal rules, but also understand the practical aspects of considering a potential bid protest.

In this program, attorneys Craig Smith and Lindy Bathurst discuss these types of practical considerations. This course focuses on how counsel can help contractors maximize information exchange with the Government, the capture team, and elsewhere; identify when to file a protest, and decide where; choose protest arguments, and effectively collaborate with the legal team after the protest is filed. By focusing on the actions contractors need to take, and when, to comply with deadlines and maximize the chance of success, attorneys will learn practical tips in advising their clients on managing protests from start to end.

Learning Objectives:

1. Prepare for debriefings to maximize information exchange with the Government and the capture team
2. Plan for meeting short protest-filing deadlines and assessing the available protest forums
3. Consider approaches to identifying and evaluating potential protest arguments Collaborate with the team after protest filing 
4. Collaborate with the team after protest filing