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Hunter Bennett regularly represents government contractors in bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He also counsels clients in a wide range of formation and disputes issues. Prior to entering private practice, he served as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was a member of the Department’s Bid Protest Team and frequently defended the United States against bid protests filed in the Court of Federal Claims.
During his tenure at the Department of Justice, Mr. Bennett served as lead counsel for the United States in dozens of cases involving complex commercial disputes. He also oversaw the litigation of all habeas corpus cases filed by Guantanamo Bay detainees that were pending before the Honorable Gladys Kessler in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and personally tried five detainee habeas cases. Additionally, Mr. Bennett briefed and/or argued more than 20 cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Mr. Bennett began his career as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, where he served as lead counsel in over 200 habeas corpus cases filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and successfully briefed and/or argued multiple cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
In his spare time, Mr. Bennett plays bass guitar in the band Dot Dash, whose song “Shopworn Excuse” was dubbed “a jangly piece of heaven” by USA Today.
- Successfully defended a major maritime services corporation’s $160 million federal contract to modify and operate a vessel on behalf of the Navy against protests litigated to a decision on the merits at both GAO and the Court of Federal Claims.
- Represented the disappointed bidder in a GAO protest of the Army’s award of a program management support services contract valued at more than $200 million. The Army took corrective action in response to our protest.
- Successfully protested the Army’s award of a $200M contract for IT services on the ground that the awardee had an organizational conflict of interest and gained an unfair competitive advantage by hiring a former government official. The agency took corrective action in response to the protest.
- Successfully defended the Missile Defense Agency’s award of a $50 million engineering and support services contract to our client against a GAO protest brought by an unsuccessful offeror.
- Conducted an internal investigation for a multinational corporation looking into allegations of improper gratuities paid to a government employee.
While at the Department of Justice:
- Successfully defended the United States Air Force’s override of a GAO-imposed automatic stay in a Court of Federal Claims bid protest arising out of the Air Force’s award of a contract for Light Air Support aircraft to be provided to the Afghan Air Force. Beechcraft Defense Co. v. United States, 111 Fed. Cl. 24 (2013).
- Successfully defended the United States Air Force’s award of a sole-source contract for the purchase of flight simulators as part of a Foreign Military Sale in a Court of Federal Claims bid protest. L-3 Communications Corp. v. United States, 99 Fed. Cl. 283 (2011).
- Successfully defended the United States at trial in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against a habeas corpus petition filed by an al Qaida explosives trainer. Khalifh v. Obama, 2010 WL 2382925 (D.D.C. 2010).
While at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office:
- Successfully defended the City of Philadelphia against a habeas corpus petition challenging the first-degree murder conviction of the hit man who blew up Philip “Chicken Man” Testa, Godfather of the Philadelphia Mafia.
Previous Experience
- United States Department of Justice, Trial Attorney, Civil Division
- Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Assistant District Attorney
April 30, 2019, Inside Government Contracts
As the old adage goes, you can’t unring a bell. But GAO recently concluded that it was rational of an agency to do just that when taking corrective action in a bid protest. In Quotient, Inc., B-416473.4, Mar. 12, 2019, 2019 CPD ¶ 106, the Department of Education (“ED”) established a competitive range and then...… Continue Reading The post Turns Out You Really ...
February 6, 2019, Inside Government Contracts
Organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) are perpetually thorny issues in federal procurement that contracting officers are required to identify and evaluate “as early in the acquisition process as possible.”[1] Although the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified several OCI categories,[2] two recent decisions highlight so-called impaired ...
December 28, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
In a proposed rule issued earlier this month, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) seeks to incorporate into the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (“DFARS”) restrictions on the use of the lowest price technically acceptable (“LPTA”) source selection method from the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018. This ...
November 8, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
Many government contractors are part of corporate families consisting of multiple corporate entities. One entity may be named as the official contracting party, but use the resources of affiliates, parents, or subsidiaries during performance. The distinction between those members of the corporate family may not seem important in terms of day-to-day operations ...
November 2, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
In three related bid protest decisions made public last week, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) reaffirmed the principle that agencies must meaningfully consider price when making best value tradeoff decisions. GAO sustained the protests, stressing that merely paying lip service to price while selecting a more expensive, higher-rated offeror is not ...
October 8, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
With the General Services Administration’s (“GSA”) recent issuance of a prospectus in connection with its announced plan to acquire new office space for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in lower Manhattan, now is a good time for a quick refresher about the congressional lease approval process under 40 U.S.C. § 3307, which potentially gives rise...… ...
May 10, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
Non-incumbent awardees who are defending their awards against a bid protest often view sole-source “bridge” contracts issued to the incumbent as something akin to death and taxes — an unpleasant, yet seemingly inescapable fact of life. But a recent Court of Federal Claims decision offers an important reminder that these types of contracts are not...… Continue ...
May 7, 2018, Inside Government Contracts
For contractors who are concerned that filing a bid protest in the Government Accountability Office or Court of Federal Claims may alienate their customer, agency-level protests are a welcome, less-confrontational alternative that allows them to raise their concerns in a discreet, non-public fashion. But as shown by GAO’s recent decision in GovSmart, Inc. – ...
June 6, 2016, Inside Government Contracts
The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has released a final rule revising many small business size and contracting program regulations found in 13 C.F.R. Parts 121, 124-127, effective on June 30, 2016. The revisions, which implement reforms required by the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act, include the following: Consequences of Noncompliance with ...
June 2, 2016, National Defense
Hunter Bennett is quoted in a National Defense article regarding proposed legislation that would penalize contractors who challenge the government with frivolous protests to hold a job until the protest is settled. Bennett, wondering if these provisions “simply go too far,” write, “Clearly aimed at curbing the practice of incumbent contractors filing meritless ...
June 1, 2016, Inside Government Contracts
Defense contractors seeking to protect their incumbent contracts by filing protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) may need to think twice if Congress enacts protest reform provisions included in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s recently released version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (S. 2943). Under ...
Masters Academy: Best Practices In Government Contracting
November 2, 2015, Public Contracting Institute
Review Important GAO and Court Decisions, Latest Developments and Trending Protest Topics
June 3, 2015, Decisions Webinar Series, Public Contracting Institute
Leading Government Contracts Group Joins Covington
May 1, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, May 1, 2015 — Covington is significantly expanding its government contracts practice with 20 lawyers from one of the nation’s top government contracts groups, including its former chair and leaders in contractor tort liability, bid protests, procurement fraud, trade secrets and employment. The group of five partners and 15 other lawyers from ...
Protests of Federal Government Contracts: Process and Strategy
April 20, 2015, Public Contracting Institute
Department of Justice Perspectives on Bid Protests
May 20, 2014, Bid Protest Committee of the ABA Public Contract Law Section