Bracewell’s government contracts team provides litigation, transactional and regulatory advice to clients of all sizes, operating in the public sector marketplace. We understand the unique challenges facing companies participating in the complex and evolving regulatory environment governing the US federal market. Our lawyers combine deep industry knowledge with an insider’s perspective to view the “big picture” when representing clients and provide timely and practical advice to help companies achieve complete and efficient solutions that further their business objectives. Some of our lawyers maintain security clearances and regularly represent clients in classified matters.
We regularly represent clients in a vast array of federal agreements, including:
- procurement contracts subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
- federal grants and cooperative agreements
- federal loan guarantees
- Other Transaction Authority agreements (OTAs)
Our lawyers provide substantive advice on potentially thorny statutory and regulatory requirements such as ethics and compliance, cost allowability determinations, foreign military financing and the Anti-Deficiency Act, data rights and intellectual property issues, defective pricing, commercial item contracting, General Services Administration (GSA) and Veterans Administration (VA) schedule contracting, real property leasing, GSA area-wide contracts, the Small Business Act, domestic preferences (Buy America Act, Trade Agreements Act, Berry Amendment, Build America, Buy America (BABA), Buy America) and the Procurement Integrity Act.
We are experienced in representing clients in a range of government contracts litigation and transactional matters, such as:
- government and Internal Investigations, including Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations into procurement and grant fraud allegations, and conducting internal investigations to include advising clients concerning mandatory disclosure obligations
- False Claims Act, including representing clients in all phases of qui tam cases and government-initiated cases related to healthcare, defense and national security, disaster relief and import tariffs
- bid protests, including representing clients both as intervenors and protestors before agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the US Court of Federal Claims (COFC)
- small business, including advising buyers, sellers and investors on the statutory obligations under the Small Business Act and requirements under the 8(a) program, as well as representing clients in small business size appeals before the Small Business Administration (SBA)
- claims and disputes, including representing clients at the COFC and boards of contract appeals under the Contract Disputes Act and the Tucker Act
- suspension and debarment, including representing clients before agency suspension and debarment officials (SDOs) in presenting matters in opposition challenging proposed debarments and negotiating resolutions to avoid action by SDOs
- ethics and compliance, including the establishment of compliance programs, corporate compliance reviews and training, and codes of conduct, policies and procedures required under the FAR and federal grant regulations
- M&A transactions, advising buyers, sellers, investors in transactions involving government contractors including due diligence, preparing and securing novations, change-of-name agreements, foreign ownership control and influence (FOCI) issues and related facility clearance issues
