Culhane Meadow’s Government Contracts group regularly advises clients across a broad spectrum of federal, state, local, and foreign government contracting and grant matters, including policy development, rulemaking, RFPs, public-private partnerships, grants, regulatory audits, investigations, and enforcement actions.  Our partners include attorneys who have served in senior positions in federal government agencies, the executive branch, and state government.

Our partners have represented clients in interactions with a wide variety of federal agencies and entities, including the Office of White House Counsel; the Executive Office of the President; the Office of the Vice President; Department of Justice; Department of Commerce; Department of Labor; Department of Defense; U.S. Postal Service; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Federal Trade Commission; Federal Communications Commission; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Department of the Treasury; Internal Revenue Service; Federal Reserve; Department of Health and Human Services; Department of State; Food and Drug Administration; SAMHSA; Department of Transportation; Merit Systems Review Board; Securities and Exchange Commission; and the Bureau of Indian Affairs – to name a few.

We work with clients ranging from Fortune 20 companies to small businesses on many issues arising under their government contracts and subcontracts, including:

Bidding and Contract Award

• advising on agency procurement rules and procedures;
• reviewing and commenting on government solicitations;
• providing legal review of bids and proposals;
• drafting and advising on teaming and joint-venture agreements;
• assisting in the negotiation, selection, evaluation, and award of contracts; and
• bringing, and defending against, bid protests at the agency level and before the General Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Contract Administration

• counseling on contract interpretation, contractual rights and obligations, and regulatory and statutory requirements;
• advising on the FAR, DFARS, the Common Rule, and other procurement policies and rules;
• drafting subcontract agreements and flow-down clauses;
• advising on Service Contact Act compliance and audits;
• preparing, and responding to, requests under the Freedom of Information Act;
• counseling on government audits, terminations, and investigations;
• advising on and negotiating changes and contract modifications;
• performing due diligence reviews regarding potential suppliers and service providers, business partners, transactions, investors and mergers and acquisitions; and
• preparing and negotiating requests for equitable adjustment and Contract Disputes Act claims.

Claims and Litigation

• litigating protests and claims before agency boards and federal courts;
• representing on suspension and debarment matters;
• defending against government claims, qui tam actions, and False Claims Act cases; and
• using Alternative Dispute Resolution to resolve disputes and litigation.

Compliance

• presenting seminars and training on government contracting topics and compliance;
• advising clients facing administrative and civil actions for alleged compliance violations;
• drafting internal codes of business and ethical conduct;
• advice and counsel regarding day to day management and operations of business conduct and ethics compliance programs;
• performing internal investigations; and
• representing companies in government investigations.

Because negotiated resolutions often produce the best outcomes, we lay the groundwork for cost-effective and common-sense solutions.   But when litigation is necessary, we actively represent clients in various forums, including:  U.S. District Courts; the U.S. Court of Federal Claims; agency Boards of Contract Appeals, including the Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals (PSBCA); the USPS Supplier Disagreement Resolution Official (SDRO); and the General Accountability Office (GAO).

U.S. Postal Service Compliance

Our government contracts practice also includes substantial experience assisting companies doing business with the U.S. Postal Service, which is exempt from many bedrock federal rules and has its own special procurement and dispute resolution environment. For a collection of our materials relating to U.S. Postal Service contracts, please visit https://www.postalcontractor.com/.