Federal Contracting Attorneys in Northern Virginia

A federal contracting attorney helps businesses assess procurement challenges, government contract claims, teaming and subcontract disputes, compliance obligations, and agency inquiries. The first step is identifying the contract, the parties, the forum, and any time-sensitive notice.

Sources: GAO: Bid protests · FAR 33.206: Initiating a claim · FAR Subpart 9.6: Team arrangements

Shin Law Office assists prime contractors and subcontractors with contract review, performance disputes, payment issues, and compliance questions. The legal route depends on the business’s role and agreements. Representation in a particular matter follows a conflicts check and an agreed scope of services.

A bid protest challenges the terms of a federal solicitation or a proposed or actual contract award. Potential issues include evaluation errors, unequal treatment, or an improper solicitation requirement. Available forums and standing requirements must be assessed before choosing where to file.

Sources: GAO: Bid protests

Apparent solicitation defects generally must be protested before bid opening or the initial proposal deadline. Other grounds generally must be filed within 10 days after the protester knew or should have known the basis. Required debriefings and other circumstances can change the analysis. There is no universal 10-days-after-award rule.

Sources: 4 CFR § 21.2: Protest timing

No. Protest timeliness and the conditions for a statutory stay are different. The ordinary post-award rule in FAR 33.104 addresses agency receipt of GAO notice within 10 days after award or 5 days after the date offered for a requested and required debriefing, whichever is later. Applicable debriefing procedures and authorized overrides also require review.

Sources: FAR 33.104: GAO protests

No. Request a debriefing within the applicable period and obtain advice about the particular procurement. GAO has a special rule for debriefings that are both requested and required, and enhanced defense debriefing procedures can affect timing. An optional debriefing or an unanswered question does not necessarily delay a deadline.

Sources: 4 CFR § 21.2: Protest timing · FAR 33.104: GAO protests

Yes. The firm can assess the protest, participation rights, the award record, and response strategy. An awardee should preserve its proposal and communications and follow the agency’s actual performance instructions. An award does not guarantee that a protest will be dismissed or that performance will continue uninterrupted.

Sources: GAO: Bid protests · FAR 33.104: GAO protests

Enforceability depends on the agreement and applicable law. Review whether the language creates definite obligations or leaves essential terms for a future subcontract, along with conditions, exclusivity, and remedies. FAR recognition of contractor team arrangements does not itself make every private workshare promise enforceable.

Sources: FAR Subpart 9.6: Team arrangements

Compare the signed teaming agreement, proposal commitments, any awarded subcontract, and the communications about the change. Potential remedies depend on which obligations became binding, applicable law, conditions, and provable loss. A workshare percentage alone does not guarantee a recovery.

Sources: FAR Subpart 9.6: Team arrangements

Review the subcontract’s payment, acceptance, notice, dispute, and termination provisions. Preserve invoices, work records, change approvals, and payment communications. Counsel can evaluate a demand, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation as appropriate. The fact that a project is federally funded does not by itself create a direct payment claim against the government.

Sources: FAR 44.203: Subcontract consent

Generally, a subcontractor lacks a direct contractual relationship with the government. A government-related subcontractor claim may need sponsorship through the prime under a valid pass-through arrangement, subject to legal requirements and defenses. A private claim against the prime uses a different analysis. Government consent to a subcontract does not itself create a direct contractual relationship.

Sources: FAR 44.203: Subcontract consent

Not necessarily. A request for equitable adjustment may seek a negotiated contract adjustment. A claim must satisfy the applicable requirements for submission to the contracting officer for a decision, including certification when required. Its substance and the request for a decision matter more than the document’s title.

Sources: FAR 33.206: Initiating a claim · FAR 33.207: Claim certification

FAR 33.206 generally requires a contractor claim to be submitted in writing within six years after accrual, unless the parties agreed to a shorter period, with other applicable exceptions. Accrual is not necessarily the invoice date or contract closeout. Earlier contract notice requirements and later appeal deadlines still require separate attention.

Sources: FAR 33.206: Initiating a claim · FAR 33.201: Claim accrual

Under FAR 33.207, a contractor must certify a claim exceeding $100,000. The certification addresses good faith, supporting data, the amount believed due, and authority to certify. The claim amount, required language, and signer should be reviewed before submission.

Sources: FAR 33.207: Claim certification

For covered Contract Disputes Act disputes, the usual alternatives are an appeal to the appropriate agency board within 90 days after receipt or an action in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims within 12 months after receipt. These are alternative forums, not successive extensions. Jurisdiction and exceptions, including maritime matters, require review.

Sources: FAR 33.211: Decisions and appeals

No. Applicability depends on the procurement, agency, contract type, clause prescription, incorporated terms, modifications, and any governing deviations or legal requirements. FAR overhaul materials do not mean every existing contract has automatically changed. Review the actual solicitation and contract rather than relying on a generic compliance list.

Sources: Acquisition.gov: FAR overhaul and deviations

Flow-down clauses carry specified prime-contract obligations into lower-tier agreements. Some are required when stated conditions apply; others are negotiated commercial terms. Review each clause’s trigger, tier, wording, and performance context. Simply attaching the entire prime contract can leave important duties and conflicting terms unclear.

Sources: FAR 44.203: Subcontract consent · FAR 52.215-2: Audit and records · DFARS 252.204-7012: Safeguarding and reporting

No. Review the solicitation and contract’s CMMC requirement, assessment type, covered systems and information, applicable flow-downs, and current agency direction. DFARS 252.204-7021 distinguishes levels and assessment types; CUI does not by itself answer every certification question. Legal contract review and technical assessment are separate tasks.

Sources: DFARS 252.204-7021: CMMC requirements

Preserve relevant evidence, involve the appropriate technical response team, and promptly review the contract’s reporting obligations. DFARS 252.204-7012 contains rapid reporting and preservation duties for covered incidents when the clause applies. Other clauses or laws may impose additional duties. A general consultation request does not submit a required incident report.

Sources: DFARS 252.204-7012: Safeguarding and reporting

No. SAM registration, size eligibility, and program certification are different requirements. Review the solicitation’s NAICS code and size standard, ownership and control, affiliates, required certifications, and relevant eligibility dates. Programs such as 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, and SDVOSB have distinct rules.

Sources: SBA: Contracting requirements and size · SBA: Set-asides and protests

No. A size or status challenge concerns eligibility under applicable SBA rules. A GAO protest generally challenges procurement conduct or solicitation terms. Filing, response, and appeal procedures differ, so do not use a GAO deadline as the deadline for an SBA matter.

Sources: SBA: Set-asides and protests · GAO: Bid protests

No. Mentor-protégé approval, joint venture terms, the protégé’s eligibility, and procurement-specific requirements must be reviewed separately. An affiliation exception is not blanket permission to ignore ownership, performance-of-work, reporting, or other applicable conditions.

Sources: SBA: Mentor-protégé and joint ventures

Identify the audit’s scope, authority, requested records, and response dates. Organize the relevant contract, accounting support, labor records, policies, and prior correspondence, and preserve the originals. Counsel and accounting professionals can coordinate their respective roles. The applicable audit clause and contract type determine important access and retention obligations.

Sources: FAR 52.215-2: Audit and records

Keep the complete request and proof of receipt, preserve potentially relevant records, and obtain prompt advice about authority, scope, privilege, and the response deadline. Coordinate a truthful, supported response. Do not alter records or assume that an informal extension request has changed the deadline.

Sources: FAR 52.215-2: Audit and records · FAR 52.203-13: Ethics and disclosure

No. Where applicable, FAR 52.203-13 requires timely written disclosure to the agency inspector general, with a copy to the contracting officer, when its credible-evidence trigger for specified criminal violations or civil False Claims Act violations is met. Assess the facts and other obligations. Exceptions to some internal-control requirements do not create a blanket disclosure exemption.

Sources: FAR 52.203-13: Ethics and disclosure

The civil False Claims Act can apply to knowingly false claims, material false records, and other covered conduct involving government funds. Potential exposure includes treble damages and civil penalties; whistleblowers may bring qui tam actions. A contract disagreement or billing error is not automatically an FCA violation. The particular allegation and legal elements matter.

Sources: DOJ: False Claims Act

No. Suspension and debarment concern the government’s protection and a contractor’s present responsibility under separate administrative procedures. They can affect eligibility for federal business without being the same proceeding as an FCA case. The notice, grounds, response process, and corrective measures require their own assessment.

Sources: FAR Subpart 9.4: Suspension and debarment

Review scope, price and payment, acceptance, changes, notices, required flow-downs, data and intellectual-property rights, confidentiality, insurance, indemnity, liability limits, termination, disputes, and releases. The priorities depend on the business’s role and the actual work. Identify conflicts between the prime contract, subcontract, and attachments.

Bring the complete solicitation or contract and amendments, the relevant teaming or subcontract agreements, key correspondence, invoices or cost records, and any notice, decision, subpoena, or protest. Include a short timeline with receipt dates and the outcome the business wants. Arrange a suitable channel before sharing classified information or controlled contract data.

Shin Law Office has offices in Leesburg and Fairfax, Virginia. Call 571-445-6565 or use the contact page to request a consultation about a federal contracting matter. Mention any known deadline when contacting the firm. Sending an inquiry does not itself establish representation or file a protest, claim, or response.