Government Contracts

The United States government is the single largest procurer of goods and services in the world.  State and local governments are a substantial sector as well.  Not surprisingly, the federal government, and virtually every state and local government, has established complex contracting and dispute-resolution regulations to serve the dual purposes of obtaining necessary goods and services and protecting taxpayer funds.  Alston & Bird’s government contracts attorneys are seasoned counselors and litigators who know and understand the complexities and challenges of doing business with federal, state, and municipal governments and provide strategic advice and counseling at all stages of the government-contractor relationship. 

EXPERIENCE

The lawyers in Alston & Bird’s government contracts practice are frequently called upon to assist clients in all kinds of matters involving the negotiation, the performance and, where necessary, the litigation of government contracts.  Our lawyers have:

• Served as counsel to a Nasdaq company in the first reported investigation by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), General Services Administration (GSA), and Department of Justice (DOJ) into a contractor’s alleged violation of the False Claims Act based upon a purported false certification of business size
• Served as counsel to the claimant, a national construction firm, in a multimillion-dollar claim arising out of the construction of a forensic laboratory for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Served as counsel to the incumbent contractor in a protest before the SBA of a client’s small business set aside award, successfully allowing the client to retain over 30 different government contracts
• Served as counsel to two major corporations in the successful protest on behalf of their incumbent contractor team that operates Georgia’s Clean Air Force Program before the Georgia Department of Administrative Services

RECOGNITION

The lawyers in Alston & Bird’s government contracts practice are some of the most respected practitioners in the field.  Among them are the first general counsel to the Department of Homeland Security and the first attorney to be appointed as the United States Attorney in two separate jurisdictions; a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina and director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys; a former associate counsel to the President of the United States; a former federal prosecutor assigned to Iraq’s Regime Crimes Liaison Unit; former deputy assistant attorney general and chief of staff for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; former senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the United States; former special counsel to the Attorney General for the State of North Carolina; and more than half a dozen other former Assistant United States Attorneys and DOJ trial counsel.

WHY ALSTON & BIRD?

Doing business with any government can be profitable and rewarding.  With increasing oversight, however, it can also pose a significant risk to the continuing viability of any commercial enterprise.  Whether setting up a regulatory procurement compliance program, negotiating the terms and conditions of a public contract or teaming agreement, or representing a company in public audits, investigations, suspension/debarment proceedings or litigation, the lawyers of Alston & Bird’s government contracts practice can help your company successfully navigate the numerous obligations shouldered by public contractors.