Government Contract Size Protest: D.C. Legal Expertise for Small Businesses
The Whay Law Firm, located in Washington, D.C., is a government contract law firm, with extensive experience representing small- and medium-sized companies with government contract protests, claims at the ASBCA and CBCA, teaming agreements and subcontracts, termination for default, and all other government contract issues. In fact, all of our clients are government contractors. The firm expertly handles the full array of issues faced by companies doing business with the federal government, including assisting clients with size protests before the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Government Size Protests 101
Bid protests are typically filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and/or the Court of Federal Claims (COFC), but if the protest is regarding the size status of a company, that is, the awardee is not actually a small business for the NAICS code applicable to the procurement, the bid protest process is different. The protest must be filed with the contracting officer, who then forwards the protest to the SBA. The SBA is the only agency that can determine if a business qualifies as a “small business.”
A size protest is not filed with a specific form or format, but the content requirements are rigid, and providing specific details, with sufficient evidence to support the claim is necessary to avoid dismissal. Timeliness is key; size protests must be filed with the contracting officer within 5 business days of notice of the identity of the apparent successful offeror. Businesses seeking to protest an award based upon the size of the awardee should seek expert legal counsel to minimize the risk of dismissal.
Size Protest of Offeror Eligibility
Eligibility rules for contract size protests also differ than those for a GAO or COFC bid protest. Offerors with no standing to file a protest with the GAO could potentially be eligible to file a size protest with the SBA. Like the GAO and COFC protest process, protestors must be an “interested party,” and cannot have been eliminated by the contract agency for reasons unrelated to size.
Defending a Size Protest
Businesses who are the subject of a size protest have just three days to formally respond to the SBA, including providing requested documentation. You can often obtain an extension of the filing. If you are an awardee who is the target of a size protest, you should immediately seek expert counsel to guide your response and defense of the protest.
If you need assistance filing or defending a size protest, contact the Whay Law Firm immediately. We recognize that you face unique challenges as a government contractor. We are a full-service government contracts law firm dedicated to providing outstanding legal service to government contractors. Our offices are located in close proximity to Federal offices, including the SBA, the COFC and the GAO.
