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Government contracts and bid protest attorney and Maynard Nexsen shareholder Joshua Duvall recently published a Law360 Expert Analysis article entitled, “'Key Personnel' Defense Is Trending In GAO Bid Protests." The article discusses a trio of recent U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") bid protest decisions which show a growing trend in bid protest practice: the key personnel unavailability defense.

From the article, "[b]ecause this argument [that the awardee's key personnel became unavailable after proposal submission but prior to award] can knock out the awardee in decisive fashion, it is emerging as a go-to defense strategy. That is, agencies and intervenors are defending protests by arguing that the protester's key personnel have become unavailable after the proposal submission, but prior to an award. If successful in this turning-the-tables argument, it is the protester's bid that likely will be deemed technically unacceptable, thereby meaning that it is not an interested party with standing to protest."

The full Expert Analysis article, “'Key Personnel' Defense Is Trending In GAO Bid Protests," was published by Law360 on January 27, 2025 (subscription required).