Taft attorneys Suzanne Sumner, Erin Davis and Brandon Dobyns will present the second in a series of four seminars, “Federal Government Contracts: Knowing Which Boiler Plate Clauses You Need to Understand” at the Wright Brothers Institute on June 20. 

This presentation will discuss clauses and statutes unique to federal government contracts including Termination for Convenience of the Government, Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights, Disputes Clause, Anti-Assignment Act, Anti-Kickback Act and more. Additional information including registration for the free event can be found here. Topics for the remaining two seminars include Small Business Developments, Including When and Why to Team or Joint Venture With Another Company: and Technical Data Rights or IP under Federal Contracts.

Sumner focuses her practice on government contracts law and commercial litigation. She assists prime contractors, subcontractors and public buyers with issues related to their government contracts. Suzanne provides advice on a wide variety of issues related to solicitations, contracts and subcontracts, including the interpretation of FAR and DFARS clause requirements; issues involving compliance with the Buy American Act, Berry Amendment, and Trade Agreements Act; issues involving technical data rights; and issues related to negotiating nondisclosure agreements, teaming agreements, supply agreements, name changes and novations. She also assists clients with preparing and submitting termination proposals and requests for equitable adjustment. Suzanne conducts federal government contract compliance reviews, GSA Schedule audits and internal company investigations. In addition, she represents clients in arbitration disputes, bid protests before agencies and the GAO, and in the filing and litigation of claims before federal courts and boards of contract appeals.

Davis counsels clients on government contracts law from the pre-solicitation phase through contract closeout, including interpretation of the FAR and DFARS clause requirements; subcontracting agreements; compliance with the Buy American Act, Berry Amendment and Trade Agreements Act; issues related to technical data rights, nondisclosure agreements, teaming agreements, supply agreements, name changes and novations; grants and other agreements; and specialized federal acquisition. Erin offers practical advice designed to comply with the ever-changing laws and regulations in increasingly competitive federal acquisitions. She assists clients in preparing and submitting bid protests, termination proposals, requests for equitable adjustments and cost-related matters.

Dobyns serves as counsel to clients on government contract matters, including subcontracting, bid protests, and contract interpretation. However, he provides this counsel to clients from a unique perspective. Prior to joining Taft, Brandon was in-house counsel to a mid-sized government contractor and understands the business realities facing clients in times of crisis. When contract issues raise to the level of involving outside counsel, two things are on every business owner and in-house counsel’s mind: how can we resolve this issue in our favor, and how much is it going to cost? With Brandon’s in-house background, he is sensitive to how both matters affect operations and the bottom line.