Given how much emphasis federal procurement law properly places on fairness, it can be easy to assume that government buyers must do everything necessary to ensure a fair procurement. But that’s not always the case. For example, as the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Yulista Tactical Services LLC, B-417317.3; B-417317.5; B-417317.6 (January
Helping individuals, companies, and organizations understand key legal and practical considerations for promoting compliance and making better business decisions in these types of federal, state, and local government contracting matters MORE
Bid Protests and the Contracting Process
GAO Reminds Offerors that It’s Important to Substantiate Key Personnel’s Experience
Putting your best foot, or best personnel, forward seems like “Winning the Contract Award 101.” But a refresher course never hurts. Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Deloitte Consulting, LLC (Deloitte), B-416882.4 (January 6, 2020), provided a reminder about the content of a quotation where the solicitation requires submission of a crosswalk, resume,…
GAO Considers Reconsideration
It’s not unusual for defeated protesters to feel as though the explanation for their defeat short changes their arguments. Indeed, this might be the case for every defeated protester (or intervenor, or agency). The Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Analytical Solutions by Kline, LLC (ASK), B-417161.3 (July 11, 2019), published on GAO’s website on…
Securing the Supply Chain – CMMC Draft Version 0.7 Issued
Last month we reported on the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) issuance of Version 0.6 of its draft Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) standard. That draft included DoD updates and revisions to CMMC’s domains, capabilities and practices for Levels 1 through 3. It deferred revisions to those parts of CMMC covering Levels 4 and 5. On…
Tiered Evaluations: A Lesson in Reasonably Applying Different Rules
It’s not always clear where the applicability of one law or rule should stop and the applicability of another should begin. Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in Becton, Dickinson and Company, B-417854 (November 15, 2019) helped clarify the interplay between the Buy American Act (BAA) and the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) when it…