Jennifer Schaus hosts a series of Government Contracting webinars. Bill Bainbrdge of Perkins Coie joins us for a discussion on BID PROTEST. Full audio & slides avail at: http://youtu.be/sCsUbUeXdPM

1. Bid Protest Fundamentals

2. Bid Protest Fundamentals
• Agenda
– Introductions
– Presentation
– Q & A

3. Bid Protest Fundamentals
–Introductions:
• Fed Bid Speed
• Fierce Government
• William Bainbridge – Perkins Coie LLP
• Jennifer Schaus – JS & Associates

4. Bid Protest Fundamentals
• Fed Bid Speed
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* Single click integration with FBO.gov
* Share notes & project manage RFP’s

5. Bid Protest Fundamentals
• Fierce Government
* Free Govt IT Newsletter
* IT in Govt Agencies / Defense / Cloud / Cyber
* White Papers / Events / Analysis
* In-depth & Quality = Differentiator

6. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Perkins Coie LLP
With more than 900 lawyers in 19 offices across
the United States and Asia, Perkins Coie
represents great companies across a wide
range of industries and stages of growth—
from start-ups to FORTUNE 50 corporations.
www.PerkinsCoie.com

7. Bid Protest Fundamentals
• Jennifer Schaus & Associates
• B2G Services and Events
GSA Schedules
Federal Sales / Marketing
Full Series of GOV CON WEBINARS:
http://JenniferSchaus5.eventbrite.com

8. Bid Protest Fundamentals

9. Bid Protest Fundamentals
What is a Bid Protest?

10. Bid Protest Fundamentals
WHAT is a Bid Protest?
– a challenge to the award or proposed award
of a contract for procurement of goods &
services OR
– a challenge to the terms of a solicitation for
such a contract
* This means agency procurement actions can be
challenged before & after award

11. Bid Protest Fundamentals
WHERE to Protest
– Procuring Agency (usually the CO)
– Government Accountability Office
– U.S. Court of Federal Claims
– SBA (protests of small business size status; file with CO first)

12. Bid Protest Fundamentals
WHEN to Protest
– Pre-Award protests filed at agency or GAO must be
filed before next offers are due
– Post-Award
• If no debriefing, 10 days after notice
• Debriefing (must request w/in 3 days of notice)
• Protest – five days after “required debriefing” for automatic
stay / suspension
– Competitive Range
– Other grounds must be filed w/in 10 days of notice
– Timelines are strictly enforced!

13. Bid Protest Fundamentals
WHEN to Protest (cont’d)
–U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• Pre-Award similar to GAO
• Post-Award: No statute of limitations, but court will assess
whether Plaintiff waited too long to file after award

14. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Typical Grounds of Protest
– Pre-Award
• Specs/requirements overly restrictive of competition
• Specs/requirements are ambiguous
• Bundling
• Other solicitation problems

15. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Typical Grounds of Protest
– Post-Award
• Unstated evaluation criteria
• Evaluation did not follow RFP
• Lack of meaningful discussions
• COI
• Violations of law or regulation
• Unequal treatment

16. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Business Considerations
– Bid protests should be part of your overall capture
strategy
• Use pre-award protests to shape the procurement when appropriate
• Remember, if don’t protest a term or condition of the RFP before submission
of proposals, you have agreed to play by the rules as published (waiver)
• Whether to file a post-award protest – what is the realistic likelihood of
success?
• Costs (agency vs. GAO vs. COFC)

17. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Business Considerations – cont’d.
– Protesting w/o an attorney is (almost) never a good idea
– Defending an award you received
– Winning a protest does not necessarily mean you win the
contract. Make sure your attorney is giving you a realistic
assessment
– Relationship with your customer – real concern but often
overstated

18. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Possible Outcomes
– You win on the merits
– Agency corrective action
– Protest denied / dismissed
– Things to Consider:
• Directed awards are rare. If you win, GAO or COFC will usually tell
the agency to fix the problems identified by the protest.
• In some instances you may qualify for reimbursement
• Winning on the merits – approx 20% of the time or less
• Corrective Action – more & more frequent

19. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Conclusions

20. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Conclusions
– Make bid protests part of your overall strategy
– Decision to protest should support your business objectives
(Legal vs. Business considerations)
– Winning a protest & winning a contract are 2 different things.
* But sometimes you have to do one in order to do the other
.
– Timeliness matters. A lot. Late protests get dismissed
.
– Get your attorney involved early & make sure s/he is giving you a
realistic assessment of the situation.

21. Thank You !!!!!
Please submit questions here …....
The webinar is recorded &
will be available for download.
Thank you for your time!

22. Bid Protest Fundamentals
Jennifer Schaus & Associates
JSchaus@JenniferSchaus.com
www.JenniferSchaus.com
+ 1 – 2 0 2 – 3 6 5 – 0 5 9 8
William Bainbridge*
Perkins Coie LLP
2 0 2 – 6 5 4 – 6 2 5 8
WBainbridge@PerkinsCoie.com
*Mr. Bainbridge is licensed only in Md.
DC Bar admission pending