Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's government contracts lawyers handle the formation, administration and litigation phases of contracts with or funded by the U.S. government. Our experience includes supply contracts (from simple commercial items to sophisticated weapons), service contracts (from monthly janitorial services to multiyear base operations contracts), research and development contracts (from limited application research to Strategic Defense Initiative weapons and strategic planning), construction contracts (from renovations to large structures and complex overseas projects), ADPE procurements (computer software, hardware and services, and telecommunications equipment and services), and grants and cooperative agreements.
Our government contracts lawyers are familiar with all executive branch procuring agencies and are particularly experienced with the procurement policies and regulations of the Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, State, Veterans Affairs and Transportation, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Agency for International Development and the General Services Administration.
Contract Formation
We regularly advise our clients on such matters as the Competition in Contracting Act requirements, sealed bid procedures (including evaluation, mistakes in bid and two-step sealed bidding), negotiated procurement procedures (including proposal preparation, evaluation of proposals, the competitive range, discussions, "four-step" procedures, best and final offers, and source selection), types of contracts (including fixed price, cost reimbursement, level of effort and incentive contracts), and contract pricing (including cost analysis and profit negotiations, and cost or pricing data requirements under the Truth in Negotiations Act). We also counsel clients in the area of technical data rights, computer software, patent rights and the protection of these rights, and issues raised due to the continuing changes imposed by statute and regulation. Our lawyers are continually advising on contractor ethics and compliance, and contract negotiations with the military services, the civilian agencies and subcontract negotiations with major U.S. prime contractors.
In addition to contract formation issues, we counsel clients on contract policy matters such as small business set-asides, minority business programs, U.S. preference statutes such as the Buy American Act and the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, and environmental policies and labor statutes such as the Davis-Bacon Act, the Walsh-Healey Act and the Service Contract Act.
Lawyers in our government contracts practice group frequently work with the firm's legislative lawyers in formulating client positions for presentation to appropriate congressional committees or agency personnel.
Contract Administration
The principal focus of contract administration matters is contract interpretation. Accordingly, our lawyers regularly analyze the contract language and the availability and credibility of evidence extrinsic to the contract documents (discussions and concurrent actions, prior course of dealing, custom and trade usage). We also focus on other interpretation issues such as contract warranties, the government's duty to cooperate and impracticability of performance. Similarly, our lawyers analyze contract inspection and quality requirements, allowability and allocability of costs under agency regulations and OMB Circular A-122, acceptance of deliverables, latent defects, terminations for convenience and the preparation of settlement proposals, terminations for default, defective pricing actions, suspension and debarment issues, contract audits under agency regulations and OMB Circular A-133, extraordinary contractual relief requests, and payment issues involving progress payments, milestone payments and final payment.
Clients also seek our assistance when the agency changes contract requirements (either formally or constructively) or when the contractor seeks to change the contract through engineering change proposals and value engineering change proposals. When such changes or similar actions occur (e.g., differing site conditions or delays), our lawyers become involved in the pricing of the contract adjustment by assisting in the evaluation of allowable costs through the application of the cost principles and other price adjustment policies and procedures relevant to the particular agency.
Contract Litigation
Our government contracts lawyers handle contract formation dispute before the General Accounting Office and the Court of Federal Claims and the Federal District Courts.
If a dispute occurs during the performance stage of a government contract or subcontract, our lawyers assist the client in claims preparation and settlement negotiation and/or subsequent appeals to a Board of Contract Appeals or Court of Federal Claims.