The Law Office of Christopher C. Bouquet, PLLC

Practice Areas

Government Contracts

Christopher C. Bouquet develops solutions to problems that arise in connection with your government contracts. The solutions are based on superior legal scholarship and skills developed over more than 30 years of successful experience as a government contractor and government contracts lawyer.

Mr. Bouquet’s government contracts law practice focuses on the following major areas:

  • Cost Accounting and Recovery
  • Compliance Programs
  • Internal Investigations
  • Contract Formation
  • Claims
  • Intellectual Property Protections
  • Small Business Programs
  • Subcontracts and Teaming Agreements
  • Bid Protests
  • Litigation Support

Click on the name of the practice area above for details concerning the practice areas of The Law Office of Christopher C. Bouquet, PLLC.

Cost Accounting and Recovery

Mr. Bouquet helps government contractors comply with the complex Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) rules governing cost accounting and recovery under government contracts. For example, Mr. Bouquet will help develop and implement new and improved compliance program policies, procedures, and training for company employees responsible for adherence to the FAR and CAS rules. In addition, he will review, analyze, and comment on whether the following submissions comply with FAR and CAS:

  • cost proposals for new contracts and modifications to existing
  • contracts
  • forward pricing rate proposals
  • incurred cost submissions
  • cost impact statements for changes in cost accounting practice or CAS
  • non-compliance
  • CAS Board Disclosure Statements.

Mr. Bouquet will also:

  • help new entrants to the government marketplace in the contract formation phase prepare for pre-award accounting system surveys
  • review adjustments to cost accounting practices to determine whether cost impact statements are required
  • review and comment on whether proposed research and development projects qualify for treatment as independent research and development projects under government contracts’ cost accounting regulations
  • develop defenses and draft responses to Defense Contract Audit Agency audit reports concerning clients’ compliance with the FAR and CAS cost accounting and recovery rules
  • make presentations to government officials defending the practices of his clients.

You can also use Mr. Bouquet’s expertise in cost accounting and recovery rules to support internal investigations of potential mischarging, which frequently involve accounting issues, and to support litigation of cost accounting disputes. Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s experience with the cost accounting and recovery regulations.

Compliance Programs

The government contracts compliance program services offered by Mr. Bouquet are valuable to new government contractors, who quickly need to come to terms with the full scope of the compliance challenges they face, and to mature government contractors, who may need to improve an existing compliance system as a result of an audit report, hotline call or other inquiry or initiative. Mr. Bouquet’s services in support of compliance programs involve one or more of the following activities:

  • determining and documenting requirements for systems and procedural development
  • determining and documenting requirements for general training in government contracts compliance requirements
  • determining and documenting requirements for specialized training in government contracts compliance (e.g., cost accounting and recovery rules, compliance with the Truth in Negotiations Act)
  • conducting generalized and specialized training for employees
  • drafting policies and procedures to ensure robust internal control systems
  • drafting Code of Ethics
  • conducting compliance reviews.

Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s experience with compliance program development and implementation.

Internal Investigations

Mr. Bouquet’s internal investigation services are especially useful to companies that need to investigate concerns raised by employees or in government audit reports about the company’s compliance with the governing government contracts laws and regulations. In many cases, such issues can be resolved cost-effectively without involving the white-collar practice of a large law firm. Mr. Bouquet’s work on internal investigations of government contracts matters typically involves one or more of the following activities:

  • initial identification of issues
  • document review and analysis
  • witness identification and interviews
  • legal research
  • assessment of issue or case
  • quantification of potential liability to the government (in conjunction with accountants)
  • preparation of position papers and presentations for government officials
  • involvement with settlement negotiations
  • recommendations to the company concerning compliance program changes.

Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s experience with internal investigations.

Contract Formation

The contract formation practice of Mr. Bouquet helps clients comply with the numerous laws and regulations governing the submission of proposals for government contracts and to submit proposals that are responsive to the government’s requirements. His work in the contract formation phase typically involves counseling concerning one or more of the following issues:

  • compliance with the Procurement Integrity Act
  • use of required legends to protect proprietary proposal data
  • identification and inclusion in the proposal of background intellectual property for use and protection during the contract performance phase
  • drafting of questions to the agency in response to a Solicitation to clarify the applicability of FAR clauses to the procurement
  • completion of required representations and certifications, including required statements on the domestic content of supplies
  • applications for exemptions from the cost or pricing data submission requirements of the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA)
  • compliance with TINA, including proper indexing and disclosure of cost or pricing data and due diligence required in connection with TINA certifications
  • completion of CAS disclosure statements
  • preparation for pre-award accounting system surveys
  • drafting and negotiation of special contract clauses covering specified risk areas, such as the need for indemnification or other liability protection.

Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s contract formation experience.

Claims

Mr. Bouquet’s claims development services can help companies restore healthy profit margins on contracts that have been adversely affected by government actions or inactions. His services typically involve one or more of the following activities:

  • thorough fact-finding concerning the contractual baseline and changes made to it
  • comprehensive analyses of entitlement under the governing contractual provisions and the case law interpreting these provisions
  • quantification of the claim (in conjunction with accountants)
  • preparation of claim narratives advocating the company’s positions
  • negotiation and resolution of the claims.

Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s claims experience.

Intellectual Property Protections

Mr. Bouquet’s counseling of companies in connection with their government contracts includes counseling concerning the importance of the following Federal Acquisition Regulation procedures concerning the protection of company intellectual property. His intellectual property-related services tend to involve one or more of the following activities:

  • drafting policies and procedures concerning the protection of intellectual property under government contracts
  • assisting companies with questions concerning the proper protective marking of technical data delivered in the performance of government contracts
  • assisting companies with questions concerning the proper procedures to follow in the event a patentable invention is first conceived or reduced to practice in the performance of a government contract
  • reviewing, analyzing, and commenting on non-disclosure agreements between contractors while contemplating teaming agreements and other cooperative arrangements.

Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s intellectual property experience.

Small Business Programs

Mr. Bouquet’s small business programs practice focuses on the relationships between small and large companies. Typically, Mr. Bouquet is called upon to analyze whether, under the Small Business Administration’s rules, a relationship rises to the level of “affiliation,” in which case the small business may no longer be eligible for government contracting procurement preferences. If it does, he makes recommendations concerning how to restructure the relationship so that it does not rise to this level. Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s small business program experience.

Subcontracts and Teaming Agreements

The subcontracts and teaming agreements services offered by Mr. Bouquet are particularly valuable for busy corporate Legal Departments seeking to cost-effectively outsource temporary surges in the volume of their work. His work on teaming agreements typically involves drafting to promote his clients’ business objectives and to avoid the application of case law that makes an unallowable bid and proposal costs incurred pursuant to teaming agreements. Mr. Bouquet’s work on subcontracts typically involves one or more of the following:

  • analysis of whether the subcontract qualifies as a “commercial item” subcontract under the FAR (and, therefore, streamlined acquisition procedures)
  • flow down and tailoring of applicable FAR clauses to the subcontract
  • assisting clients to obtain appropriate representations and certifications from the subcontractor
  • providing guidance on the applicability of the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) to the subcontract
  • if TINA applies, providing guidance on the procedures to follow to obtain certified cost or pricing data from the subcontractor
  • assisting clients to understand their obligations to perform cost and/or price analysis on subcontract pricing actions
  • reviewing and commenting on commercial terms of the subcontract
  • assisting in the negotiation of the subcontract.

Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s subcontracts and teaming agreements experience.

Bid Protests

Federal agencies must award contracts in accordance with numerous acquisition laws and regulations. If a party interested in a government contract believes that an agency has violated procurement law or regulation in a solicitation for goods or services or in the award of a contract, it may file a bid protest with either the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) or the Court of Federal Claims. Mr. Bouquet takes a balanced approach to handicapping the prospects for success of bid protests, always striving to advise clients candidly about both the strengths and the weaknesses of their cases. In the briefings prepared in support of protests, he focuses relentlessly on obtaining a thorough understanding of the facts and comprehensive identification of case law supporting the protest.

Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s experience with bid protests.

Litigation Support

Mr. Bouquet has significant experience in providing support to litigations involving government contract issues. In the cases he has worked on, he has engaged in extensive factual discovery and analysis, including taking and defending depositions of government and contractor personnel, drafting briefs, and preparing legal research. He can serve cost-effectively as a temporary adjunct to your internal litigation staff. He can also help you interact with larger law firms who may be handling your litigation. Click here for details concerning Mr. Bouquet’s litigation support experience.

Commercial Contracts

Mr. Bouquet is also available to help you solve problems pertaining to your commercial contracts. As mentioned in connection with his experience with subcontracts and teaming agreements, Mr. Bouquet has reviewed and participated in the drafting of standard commercial terms for many subcontracts under government contracts. Essentially, aside from the flow down of government contract terms, these subcontracts are commercial contracts. Like any other commercial contract, they are subject to state law. This work gives him the capacity to assist you in the drafting, negotiation, and resolution of problems associated with commercial contract terms such as:

  • warranties
  • indemnities
  • intellectual property
  • term and termination
  • ordering procedures
  • limitation of liability