Advises through the full life cycle of the federal contracting and grants processes with a focus on critical supply chain issues related to implementation of National Defense Authorization Act Section 889 and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)
Extensive experience in contracting matters with the departments of Defense, Commerce, Energy, Interior, Homeland Security, Labor and Veterans’ Affairs, as well as the General Services Administration. Deep experience with Paycheck Protection Program.
Served as Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House.

With a practice spanning more than 25 years, Angela Styles is among the most prominent government contracts and grants lawyers in the United States.

She is recognized for her deep experience in government procurement policy, cost and pricing issues, commercial item contracting, Other Transaction Authority agreements and compliance. Angela also assists clients in matters involving:

CHIPS and Science Act
Suspension and debarment
Procurement integrity
Civil false claims
Anti-Kickback Act
Schedule contracting
Leasing
Complex internal investigations
Intellectual property
Buy American Act and Trade Agreements Act.

She brings to bear her experience as an administrator for federal procurement policy within the OMB, a position that required confirmation by the U.S. Senate. For eight years, Angela also served in the role of executive director of the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct. Angela is also a member of the Board of Governors for Argonne National Laboratory, which was established by the University of Chicago, and chairs the audit committee of the laboratory.

Angela has testified about complex federal procurement issues at more than 30 hearings before committees for the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, including:

Senate Armed Services
Senate Government Affairs
House Armed Services
House Veterans’ Affairs
House Small Business
House Government Reform.

Angela’s previous private practice experience includes chairing the government contracts practice at another international law firm and serving as that firm’s chair. She also worked as legislative aide for Congressman Joe Barton and the Governor of the State of Texas. Angela was also recently elected as a member of the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee and is a board member of the Texas Historical Foundation.

Representative Work

Representation of multiple companies and universities operating within the National Lab complex.
Successful representation of clients in suspension and debarment matters before nearly every federal agency.
Successfully represented a large aerospace company before the Air Force Suspension and Debarment Office after receiving a show cause letter related to a subsidiary’s plea agreement.*
Advised a national commercial architecture firm regarding a closeout of an Administrative Agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs.*
Represented a contractor for the National Job Corps in a successful appeal of a Department of Labor contracting officer decision that denied an overhead and general and administrative claim on a Job Corps contract to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.*

Provided advice to a university, leading to a winning proposal to operate one of the largest of the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories.*
For a large technology company, prepared a mandatory disclosure and settled price reduction under the GSA schedules program on favorable terms with the GSA Inspector General.*
Reached an agreement on behalf of a midsize technology company with the GSA on dismissal of a suspension and proposed debarment and an Administrative Agreement for criminal issues associated with former principals of the company.*
For a large services company, prepared and resolved a mandatory disclosure to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for ethics issues related to the hiring of a former federal government employee.*
For a large manufacturing company, prepared and resolved a mandatory disclosure with the U.S. Department of Defense related to “inverted domestic corporation” certifications.*
Worked with a large manufacturing and energy company to resolve a potential suspension by the U.S. Department of the Army related to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues.*
For a medical device company, prepared and resolved a joint mandatory disclosure to the GSA and the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to the pricing of medical devices on its schedules program.*
Represented engineering firm in the protest of an award by the Department of the Army of a $150 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for professional engineering services; the engineering firm withdrew the protest when another higher ranked offeror filed a protest with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Successfully represented the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles in an a GAO protest of the award of a Department of Labor Job Corps center operations contract to Management and Training Corporation (MTC); the GAO sustained the YWCA’s protest that the Department of Labor engaged in unequal discussions when the agency allowed MTC to amended its proposal to add a new center director after the submission of Final Proposal Revisions without allowing the YWCA to reopen discussions.

*Work completed prior to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Provided advice to a university, leading to a winning proposal to operate one of the largest of the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories.*
For a large technology company, prepared a mandatory disclosure and settled price reduction under the GSA schedules program on favorable terms with the GSA Inspector General.*
Reached an agreement on behalf of a midsize technology company with the GSA on dismissal of a suspension and proposed debarment and an Administrative Agreement for criminal issues associated with former principals of the company.*
For a large services company, prepared and resolved a mandatory disclosure to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for ethics issues related to the hiring of a former federal government employee.*
For a large manufacturing company, prepared and resolved a mandatory disclosure with the U.S. Department of Defense related to “inverted domestic corporation” certifications.*
Worked with a large manufacturing and energy company to resolve a potential suspension by the U.S. Department of the Army related to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues.*
For a medical device company, prepared and resolved a joint mandatory disclosure to the GSA and the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to the pricing of medical devices on its schedules program.*
Represented engineering firm in the protest of an award by the Department of the Army of a $150 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for professional engineering services; the engineering firm withdrew the protest when another higher ranked offeror filed a protest with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Successfully represented the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles in an a GAO protest of the award of a Department of Labor Job Corps center operations contract to Management and Training Corporation (MTC); the GAO sustained the YWCA’s protest that the Department of Labor engaged in unequal discussions when the agency allowed MTC to amended its proposal to add a new center director after the submission of Final Proposal Revisions without allowing the YWCA to reopen discussions.

*Work completed prior to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

"Angela is a highly trusted adviser on all things government contracts-related. She has a broad understanding of the US procurement process and the application of US procurement rules to our business. She is always available and responds quickly to whatever we throw at her."

Chambers USA, 2022

Education
J.D., University of Texas School of Law, 1994
B.A., University of Virginia, with honors, 1990

Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
Texas

Recognitions

Chambers USA, leading practitioner in Government Contracts–USA–Nationwide, 2008 to 2023; described as a “highly trusted adviser on all things government contracts-related.”
The Legal 500 US, Government contracts, 2019 to 2023.
Recipient, Office of Management and Budget Outstanding Service Award.
Recipient, General Services Administration Commendable Service Award.
Recipient, Federal 100 Award.

Affiliations and Public Service

Board member and chair of audit committee, UChicago, Argonne National Laboratory.
Champion, Center for Women in Law
Board member, Texas Historical Foundation.
Member, University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee
Founder and co-President, Das Leben Foundation
Former Board member, Public Buildings Reform Board

Speeches and Publications

4th Networking & Leadership Forum for Women in Defense and Aerospace Law & Compliance, “Views from General Counsel: Successful Strategies to Enhance Your Compliance Program,” February 5, 2019, Washington, D.C.
ABA Section of Public Contract Law Annual Meeting, “How the Sausage Gets Made: FAR/DFARS Rulemaking and the Interplay Between Administrative Law and Procurement Law,” August 2018, Chicago, Illinois.