William Weisberg | Government Procurement Law

The Firm concentrates on government contract and closely related areas: federal, state, and local government prime and subcontracts, grants, SBIRs, CRADAs, Cooperative Agreements, “Other Transactions,” security clearance matters, as well as the government procurement aspects of intellectual property, labor and employment, transactional matters, and similar matters where government contracts intersect with other substantive law areas. Our clients comprise “traditional” government contractors and grantees as well as firms that may have the government as a customer, but not as the customer, at the prime and sub levels. The Firm’s clients include:

Defense contractors, at both a prime and subcontractor level;
IT firms, including hardware, software, and service firms, and IT resellers and distributors, at all channel levels;
Manufacturing firms of all types;
Biotech, life sciences, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies;
NGO’s and other non-profits, including educational institutions, working both in the U.S. and overseas;
Professional service firms, including consulting, engineering, accounting, and advertising and public relations firms;
Financial service firms (in public sector markets);
Educational and research institutions, primarily with regards to their rights and responsibilities in accepting government research and/or development funding;
Non-U.S. firms selling into the U.S. government market; and
Almost any other entity that engages in a business or other funding or customer relationship with a government agency, at the federal, state, or local government level, and at whatever tier or channel level.

Practice Areas

Counseling

Routine counseling on garden-variety issues (i.e. “What do these clauses mean?” and “What is the Contracting Officer likely to do?”);
Solicitation and bid and proposal counseling, RFP and IFB analysis, capture strategies, advice on solicitation evaluation factors, and “Red Team” proposal reviews;
Advice on the proper limits involved in marketing and selling to the government, including entertainment and other things of value given to government employees, pre-solicitation contacts with government customers, and government attendance at trade shows and other events;
Cost accounting issues, including the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”), FAR part 31, A-133, A-110, and A-122 compliance, certified cost or pricing or other than cost or pricing data matters; DCMA and DCAA issues, and other cost-reimbursement and commercial pricing contracting matters;
Government contract and grant intellectual property issues, including patent rights allocation, technical data rights matters, government software licensing issues, and related questions, under both FAR part 27, DFARS part 227, and applicable statutes, regulations, and Executive Orders;
Organizational Conflicts of Interest (“OCI”) identification, avoidance, and mitigation, including formal Mitigation Plans, and issues related to personal conflict of interest issues; and
Assisting clients in complying with small business, veteran-owned business, DBE, 8(a), women-owned business and related preference programs, including advice on structuring legal and appropriate prime contractor-subcontractor and joint venture relationships (from both the large business and small business perspectives), and litigating size and size status-related protests.

Litigation

Bid protests at GAO and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and before the Contracting Agency;
Contract Disputes Act matters involving change orders, terminations, and other disputes at the Boards of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims;
Size and related status protests at the SBA and VA;
State and local government protests and disputes at the applicable forums; and
Disputes between prime and subcontractors related to government contracts and grants.

Compliance

Proactive design and implementation of FAR part 3.10 and similar compliance programs, including Compliance Reviews, designing internal controls, and compliance and ethics training (either as a stand-alone or as part of broader procurement training);
Internal investigations involving False Claims Act and False Statements Act matters, both as a response to the internal discovery of a problem and as part of a response to a government investigation;
Defense of suspension and debarment actions;
DCAA and DCMA audits and inquiries;
OFCCP and other investigations related to government contract labor and employment issues, including Service Contract Act and EEO/Affirmative Action requirements, Davis Bacon matters, and restrictions on hiring former government employees, and
Other contract and grant-related audit and enforcement matters.

Transactional Work Involving Government Contractors

Advice and support for the deal structure issues involved when one or more parties to a transaction has government contracts and/or grants;
Contract transfer issues involving buying, selling, and investing in companies with prime or subcontracts, or grants, including novation agreements and alternative structures;
Special issues involved when a Private Equity or similar entity buys or invests in a firm with government contracts, including affiliation issues among portfolio companies for size status purposes;
Issues created when a firm with small business or other set-aside contracts is purchased (or invested in) in a manner than changes eligibility for current set-aside contracts; and
Special issues involving non-U.S. buyers or investors, including CFIUS matters, Special Security Agreements, and FOCI issues.

International