Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV

Cy leads PilieroMazza‘s Government Contracts Group, serving as Chair of the Firm’s largest practice group. He counsels clients on a broad range of government contracting matters before government agencies and federal courts, which includes overall regulatory compliance with the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) small business programs. Cy represents small and mid-sized government contractors looking to structure compliant teaming, joint venture, and mentor-protégé agreements. He also handles the prosecution and defense of small-business size and status protests; appeals before the SBA and the Office of Hearings and Appeals; as well as bid protests before the Government Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Cy’s work for federal contractors includes the preparation, negotiation, and prosecution of Contract Dispute Act claims, requests for equitable adjustment, termination for convenience settlements, and defense of suspensions and debarments.  He also works with clients on the preparation of  Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) mitigation plans and related OCI concerns, as well as intellectual property licensing, copyright, and data rights issues under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

Working closely with PilieroMazza’s Business & Transactions Group, Cy assists federal contractors to structure mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, and partner buyouts to ensure these transactions meet the client’s objectives and are compliant with federal procurement laws and regulations.  Transactions typically range from small transactions to single acquisitions valued at $100 Million.

Cy also counsels clients on certain International Traffic in Arms Regulations compliance issues and the preparation of technical assistance agreements and/or manufacturing licensing agreements for the export of defense articles and data.

Related Practice Areas

• Government Contracts
• Litigation & Dispute Resolution
• Business & Transactions
• Intellectual Property & Technology Rights
• Audits & Investigations
• Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
• False Claims Act
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Bid Protests

Representative Experience

Size/Status Protests, Appeals, and Certifications:

• Overturned multiple determinations from the VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprise for SDVOSB companies when told they failed to meet the regulatory requirements for certification
• Successful defense against proposed decertifications from the SBA HUBZone program for multiple clients based upon alleged violations of the HUBZone rules and regulations
• Successful Requests for Reconsideration and appeals of 8(a) application denials based upon findings ranging from identity of interest affiliation to alleged violations of the Newly Organized Concern Rule

Claims and Negotiations:

• Successfully negotiated a claim for bad faith termination for convenience due based upon improper motives of the contracting officer resulting in the payment of $300,000 to the client for costs incurred and lost profits on the terminated work.
• Successfully defended a claim from DCAA for approximately $500,000 based upon the DCAA’s failure to demand repayment within the applicable statute of limitations timeframe.
• Successfully prosecuted a claim for removal of an improper and unfair CPARs, resulting in the immediate removal of the CPARs and all references or other indications of the existence of the CPAR stricken from all government records.
• Successfully prosecuted and negotiated construction claims, including delays, differing site conditions, and government breaches of the duties to cooperate and not to hinder and the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
• Successful negotiation of a claim, and avoidance of a DCAA audit, resulting in immediate payment of $1.2 million to a contractor where a supervisory contracting officer attempted to cancel modifications increasing the value of the contract after determining that the modification should never have been issued and after failing to pay the contractor based upon those modifications for over two years.

Suspensions and Debarments:

• Successfully defended two separate proposed debarment actions based upon alleged violations of SBA HUBZone rules and regulations.
• Successfully negotiated resolution to a proposed termination for default and debarment despite a 30% failure rate in the emergency detection items being delivered.
• Successfully defended an SDVOSB being debarred for alleged failures to comply with the program requirements after years of being in the program and winning multiple SDVOSB awards.

Mergers &Acquisitions, Corporate Restructuring:

• Successful negotiation of a $100M sale of a staffing firm to a private equity company where small business compliance and avoiding recertification was paramount.
• Successful closure of a $50M sale of an aerial surveillance company to a foreign buyer, requiring the resolution of various problems relating to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations, Federal Aviation Administration’s rules and regulations regarding the sale of aircraft registered in the United States.
• Successfully restructured a failing transaction for $22M from a straight equity purchase to one involving convertible debt where the initial structure agreed upon by a private equity fund and a former 8(a) participant would cause a loss of all legacy 8(a) contracts.
• Successful closure of a $27M acquisition of cybersecurity contractor in the federal space with critical certifications and security clearance issues due to the new owners’ ties to foreign entities and individuals.
• Successful closure of a $23M sale of an IT company with significant small business contracts where recertification had to be avoided.
• Successful closure of dozens of deals ranging from $150K to $5M where entire companies or assets were sold to include federal contracts and where compliance with SBA regulations was critical to the transaction.
• Created strategies and executing strategies for forming new entities to work in the federal sector while avoiding affiliation and recertification concerns with long-standing and ongoing companies working in the same or similar lines of business.

Representative Cases

Size/Status Protests, Appeals, and Certifications:

• Successfully appealed SBA’s determination that a small business prime contractor was affiliated with a large business based upon economic dependence in prior years where the facts and circumstances leading to a possible finding of economic dependence ceased to exist a month prior to the date the small business submitted its proposal. See OBXtek, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5451 (2013)
• Successfully appealed the SBA’s determination that a tribally owned entity was affiliated with it sister companies due to support it received from the tribally owned parent company. See Roundhouse PBN, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5383 (2012)
• Successfully defended multiple size protests and size appeals in cases regarding the applicability of the ostensible subcontractor rule to procurements for supplies (as opposed to services), which are subject to the non-manufacturer rule. See Labatt Food Service, SBA No. SIZ-4851 (2007); M&S Foods LTD. Co., SBA No. SIZ-4971 (2008); M&S Foods LTD. Co., SBA No. SIZ-4988 (2008); Tulsa Fruit Company, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5015 (2008); Hardie’s Fruit and Vegetable Co. South, LP, SBA No. SIZ-5058 (2009); Hardie’s Fruit and Vegetable Co. South, LP and Tulsa Fruit Company, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5156 (2010); see also, Hardie’s Fruit and Vegetable Co. South, LP v. U.S., Docket No. 08-534C (2008) (order unpublished); Hardie’s Fruit and Vegetable Co. South, LP v. U.S., 329 Fed. Appx. 264 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (on appeal – case dismissed)

Bid Protests:

• Secured a preliminary injunction preventing The Bureau of Indian Affairs from moving forward with corrective action taken in response to a GAO protest filed by a competitor that included the award of an interim contract to that competitor. Due to the injunction the client received the award of the interim contract itself worth over $250,000 a month. Cherokee Nation Technologies, LLC v. United States, 116 Fed. Cl. 636 (2014)
• Secured a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction preventing the U.S. Army from awarding a contract to a competitor prior to a ruling from OHA on a size appeal. See Metters Indus., Inc. v. U.S., Docket No. 13-116C (Fed. Cl. 2013)
• Successfully protested a $12 billion IDIQ contract award on the basis that the Department of Veterans Affairs failed to adequately document its cost/technical trade-off determination. See Standard Communications v. U.S., 101 Fed. Cl. 723 (2011)
• Successfully protested agency’s failure to set $75 million task order aside for small businesses. See Delex Systems, Inc., B-400403 (Oct. 8, 2008)
• Successfully protested to U.S. Court of Federal Claims a $50B General Services Administration multiple award Alliant procurement. See Serco, Inc., et al. v. United States, 81 Fed. Cl. 463 (2008)
• Successfully protested awards made pursuant to $630 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers procurement in Doyon-American Mechanical, JV; NAJV, LLC, B 310003; B 310003.2 (Nov. 15, 2007)

Articles

• But My Affiliates ARE Me! GAO Rules Agencies May Limit Use of Affiliate Experience and Past Performance, The PM Legal Minute Blog, 12.20.24
• December 2024: Reducing the Negative Impacts of a Government Shutdown for Federal Contractors, PilieroMazza Client Alert, 12.19.24
• FY25 NDAA Update: Potential Costly Changes Ahead for Bid Protests, The PM Legal Minute Blog, 12.19.24
• Seldom-Discussed CMMC Effects on a Defense Contractor’s Business, PilieroMazza Client Alert, 12.13.24
• OHA Confirms Key Affiliation Protections for Tribal Businesses, The PM Legal Minute Blog, Tribal Advocate, 12.13.24

View More View Less

Events

• Understanding and Avoiding Affiliation for Small Business Government Contractors, Virginia APEX Accelerator Event, 04.22.25
• DFARS Part 217, Special Contracting Methods, The DFARS, 04.18.25
• Subcontracting Essentials for 8(a) Contractors, National 8(a) Association’s 2025 National Small Business Conference, 02.12.25
• Effective Marketing Strategies for Set-asides, Minority Business Round Table’s Inaugural Luncheon & Business Forum, 01.21.25
• Mergers & Acquisitions in Government Contracting: Novations and Recertification, Virginia APEX Accelerator Event, 12.10.24

View More View Less

Webinar Replays

• Common Scenarios Triggering False Claims Act Violations, Part 1: Government Contracts and Cybersecurity, Webinar Replays, 06.26.24
• Protecting Our Nation’s Data: Cybersecurity Compliance for Government Contractors, Webinar Replays, 01.04.24
• Navigating GSA Audits Compliance Strategies and Best Practices, Webinar Replays, 12.08.23
• COVID-19 Relief in 2021: What Small Businesses Need to Know, Webinar Replays, 02.03.21
• COVID-19 Legislation: How Is It Impacting Federal Contractors? (Part 2), Webinar Replays, 05.21.20

View More View Less

Podcasts

• Top 10 Tips and Traps for Bid Protests, Part 3, 06.12.24
• Top 10 Tips and Traps for Bid Protests, Part 2, 06.05.24
• Top 10 Tips and Traps for Bid Protests, Part 1, 05.30.24
• Preparing for and Doing Transactions as a Government Contractor, 07.07.22
• Building Compliance: Construction Industry Concerns Under FCA, 11.09.21

View More View Less

News

• Cy Alba Featured in PCI Podcast Series “Top 10 Tips and Traps for Bid Protests”, 06.13.24
• PilieroMazza and Cy Alba Receive Top Honors from JD Supra for Government Contracting Content, 03.29.24
• PilieroMazza Celebrates Promotion of Meghan Leemon and Lauren Brier, New Partners in the Government Contracts Group, 01.04.24
• PilieroMazza Receives Prestigious “Business Partner of the Year” Award from Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, 11.20.23
• PilieroMazza Earns “Highly Regarded” Nationwide Ranking in Chambers USA, 06.04.23

View More View Less

Education

• The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, J.D., 2004, cum laude
• Saint Joseph’s University, B.A., 2001

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Massachusetts

• U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
• U.S. District Court, District of Columbia

Activities

• Instructor, George Mason University, Masters Academy, Government Contracting, Present
• Instructor, Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP) START Program

Honors