Government Contracts

Federal, state and local governments annually spend hundreds of billions of dollars on procurement. Given the nearly unlimited nature of these contracting opportunities, almost any company can obtain government contracts business. The opportunities are not limited to major corporations. Many small and midsize companies also regularly contract with governmental entities.

Regardless of their size, government contractors frequently require legal services from lawyers familiar with government contracts law. This is a vast discipline, and many government contractors are subject to pervasive regulation of the type associated with traditional regulated industries. Squire Sanders provides government contractors with the following comprehensive legal services.

Mergers and Acquisitions. Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures in the government contracts sector pose all of the issues involved in any M&A transaction plus unique and important considerations driven by these business’ most important assets – their government contracts. Squire Sanders has particular expertise in handling these deals and the special considerations involved, like organization conflicts of interest, ownership by non-US persons, defective pricing and price reduction risks under General Services Administration schedule contracts, contract novations, patent and technical data rights, and the National Industrial Security Program.

Contract Formation and Administration. We assist clients in responding to government invitations for bids, requests for proposals or quotes and other solicitation documents. We counsel clients on warranties, invoicing, contract cost principles and cost accounting standards.  We provide representation before procuring agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), federal district courts and the US Court of Federal Claims in cases involving contract award controversies.

Contract Claims and Actions. We assist clients with contract claims and disputes arising from defective specifications, contract changes, suspensions of work, differing site conditions, delays, accelerations, contract interference, contract terminations, defective pricing, overdue payments, cost disallowances and data rights challenges.

Audits and Procurement Fraud Investigations. We represent clients in connection with government audits and procurement fraud investigations conducted by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, various agency offices of the US Inspector General and the US Department of Justice.

Suspension and Debarment Actions. We represent clients in connection with efforts by the federal government to suspend or disbar them from government contracting.

Regulatory Advice and Compliance. We advise clients on the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Civilian and Defense Agency Supplements and the Federal Property Management Regulations.

Subcontracts, Joint Ventures and Other Team Arrangements. We negotiate contractor team arrangements and ensure compliance with antitrust laws. We represent clients in commercial disputes relating to subcontracts, joint ventures and other team arrangements.

Intellectual Property Rights. We counsel clients in connection with government acquisitions of supplies or services covered by patents or copyrights and contractor licensing of government-owned patents.

International Government Contracting. We counsel clients on US procurement issues of interest to non-US companies doing business in the United States or to US companies doing business overseas, including export and munitions controls, foreign military sales, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, procurements by member states of the European Community, and international bid protest procedures.

We also advise clients on European Union issues. Representing more than €1.4 trillion of trade annually, the public procurement sector within the single European market is of utmost importance. Companies selling products or services to public bodies need to be familiar with the EU rules that address many public procurement contracts and which are directed at ensuring nondiscrimination on the basis of nationality of firms, free competition and transparency of award procedures. The EU rules have a very broad field of application to public contracts, applying not only to supply or services contracts awarded by public administration bodies and private utilities operators but also to a variety of other business models such as public-private partnerships or outsourcing projects. Squire Sanders lawyers regularly advise on EU and national public procurement rules and the remedies available following breaches of those rules in various EU Member States and the candidate countries.

Turnkey Compliance System: Code of Business Ethics and Compliance Program for Government Contractors

Starting on December 24, 2007, federal government contractors must adopt a Code of Business Ethics and Conduct, implement a business ethics awareness program and internal controls, and display Hotline Posters upon award of a "triggering" contract of at least US$5 million (including all options) that specifies a performance period of at least 120 days and the contract contains the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) § 52.203-13 and FAR § 52.203-14 clauses. For more information, see our Government Contracts Alert.

In response to requests for an affordable and customizable compliance system, Squire Sanders developed a turnkey solution to help government contractors meet the new requirements. Our Code of Business Ethics and Compliance Program for Government Contractors includes the following components:

• Model code of business ethics
• Model compliance code
• Discounts for online awareness training
• Discounts for a Web-based hotline for internal reporting

Read more about Squire Sanders’ Code of Business Ethics and Compliance Program for Government Contractors.