Bid protests are a fact of life for companies that participate in government contracts. Because public works construction contracts often are required to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, other bidders generally may object to the selection of the low bidder and claim entitlement to the contract award if the bidding and selection requirements are not strictly followed. Even where the award is to the highest scored or best value bidder, other bidders may protest the selection of the contractor and/or the procedure by which the contract was awarded. These bid protests generally occur on very short timelines, and may involve highly technical arguments. As a result, bidders and their counsel must be familiar with the protest process, laws governing procurements, and the latest protest issues and strategies, to have the best chance to successfully prosecute or defend a protest.

On January 21, 2016, Jennifer Dauer will speak about bid protest issues as part of a distinguished panel at the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry Midwinter Meeting, “Livin’ On The Fault Line, Cutting Edge Solutions for Seismic Events that Threaten Your Construction Client.” Registration for the meeting is now open, and the brochure for the program can be downloaded at http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/construction_industry/Midwinter_2016/midwinter_2016_9-25-2015_WEB.authcheckdam.pdf .

The American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry is the largest organization of construction lawyers in the United States. The Forum’s roughly 6,000 members and associates are drawn from all types of construction practice, including law firm attorneys, solo practitioners, in-house and government counsel, as well as construction professionals. Forum members represent all segments of the construction industry: owners, developers, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, construction managers, lenders, insurers and sureties.