Beware The Timeliness Trap When Protesting At The GAO
- Andrew Shipley
- 3.29.2022
Andrew Shipley and Philip Beshara discuss the US Government Accountability Office’s competitive range timeliness trap in an article published by Law360.
Excerpt: In a recent decision, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reinforced the rule that offerors who choose to defer a pre-award debriefing until after a source selection decision do so at their own peril.
Close observers of bid protest jurisprudence may be aware of the competitive range trap at the GAO. This doctrine arises from a line of cases holding that offerors who learn of their exclusion from a competitive range but choose to delay their Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 debriefings until after award give up their opportunity to protest at the GAO.
