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How contractors can approach a bid protest and not antagonize the agency

Bill Welch is the chair of the Government Contracts Practice Group at General Counsel.

Federal News Network Staff

October 19, 2011 6:36 pm

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wfedstaff | June 4, 2015 12:58 pm

Bid protests happen all the time, but contractors worry protesting a bid will hurt their chances for future government contracts.

When contractors ask whether a bid protest will shut the door on future contracts, William Welch responds, “it depends.”

Welch is the chair of the Government Contracts Practice Group at General Counsel.

In an interview with In Depth with Francis Rose, Welch offered some tips for contractors considering a bid protest:

Don’t ask for information you know the agency can’t release, such as the winning bid proposal or a detailed evaluation of the winning bid. What you can find out about is the evaluation for your proposal, Welch said.
Don’t be adversarial. In meeting with the agency, don’t take your attorney unless the agency’s attorney will be there. “A company bringing an attorney into debriefing will have the effect of shutting down communications,” Welch said.