Bio
Sam focuses his practice on federal contracting, construction law, small business procurement, and litigation. He represents government contractors in procurement-related disputes, including bid protests before the Government Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and small business size and status protests before the Small Business Administration (SBA) and its Office of Hearings and Appeals. As a member of the Firm’s Government Contract Claims & Appeals Group, Sam has extensive experience preparing, negotiating, and prosecuting Contract Dispute Act claims, requests for equitable adjustment, termination for convenience settlements, and termination for default appeals.
Sam also provides counsel to firms interested in pursuing set-aside opportunities under SBA’s 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, and All Small Mentor-Protégé Programs. He drafts and negotiates teaming, joint venture, subcontract, and mentor-protégé agreements. Additionally, Sam advises contractors on a diverse array of regulatory compliance issues arising under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and SBA regulations, including recertification, limitations on subcontracting, organizational conflicts of interest, adverse past performance evaluations/CPARS, security clearances, and affiliation.
Sam works closely with PilieroMazza’s Business & Transactions Group to assist small business contractors with properly structuring GovCon mergers and acquisitions, conducting due diligence, and preparing novation agreements.
From 2018 through the present, Super Lawyers® recognized Sam as a “Rising Star” for his work with government contractors. He also earned JD Supra’s “Readers’ Choice Top Author 2020 Award” as one of their top 10 authors in government contracting.
Related Practice Areas
Representative Matters
Representative Experience
Government Contracts:
- Litigates bid protests before federal agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC)
- Pursues and defends both size and socio-economic status protests before the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and its Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)
- Prosecutes government contractor claims under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA) at the COFC and the Boards of Contract Appeals (ASBCA and CBCA), including those pertaining to terminations for default, excusable and compensable delays, differing site conditions, constructive changes, and past performance evaluations (i.e., CPARS)
- Negotiates requests for equitable adjustment and other payment and contract-related disputes
- Coordinates and manages due diligence in connection with government contractor mergers and acquisitions and prepares related novation and change of name agreements
Small Business Programs & Advisory Services:
- Drafts subcontract agreements, mentor-protégé agreements, joint venture agreements, teaming agreements, and all other procurement related agreements
- Provides guidance on issues arising under with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and SBA regulations, including those related to recertification, the limitations on subcontracting, past performance evaluations/CPARS, organizational conflicts of interest, security clearances, and affiliation
- Counsels growing government contractors on how to maintain small business size and/or socio-economic status and how to mitigate and avoid affiliation
Litigation:
- Represents large corporations and small businesses in state and federal courts, arbitration, mediation, and before administrative bodies in labor and employment, appellate, corporate, and general litigation matters
- Drafts all matter of pleadings in federal and state court at the trial and appellate level
Representative Cases
- Successfully protested a $34 million GSA award for organizational level aircraft maintenance services where the agency did not reasonably determine that the labor categories required by the solicitation fall within the scope of the awardee’s proposed labor categories from its federal supply schedule contract. See LOGMET LLC, B-422200 (Feb. 21, 2024)
- Successfully protested a $93 million GSA award for IT services to maintain and modernize the USDA Farm Loan Programs where: (i) the agency’s evaluation of the experience of the 8(a) small business joint venture awardee was inconsistent with SBA regulations requiring agencies to consider the experience of the individual members of the joint venture, (ii) the agency performed a flawed price evaluation, and (iii) the agency failed to resolve identified risks in the awardee’s price quotation. See AttainX, Inc., B-421216 (Jan. 23, 2023)
- Successfully protested the terms of a USDA solicitation for nationwide default management services on the basis that certain pricing and payment terms were inconsistent with customary commercial practice. See Orlans PC, B-420905 (Oct. 25, 2022)
- Successfully intervened and defended the Census Bureau’s award of a Blanket Purchase Agreement worth more than $70 million in a bid protest before the United States Court of Federal Claims that included numerous claims of disparate treatment. See Golden IT, LLC v. United States, 157 Fed. Cl. 680 (2022)
- Successfully intervened and defended USAID’s award of a $22 million contract in a bid protest before the Government Accountability Office against claims of misleading and unequal discussions and a flawed cost realisms and best value tradeoff. See RTI International, B-420577.1 (June 13, 2022)
- Successfully intervened and defended a $47 million FBI award for name check services through three separate protests and numerous allegations of disparate treatment. See PAE National Security Solutions, LLC, B-419207.6 (Nov. 19, 2021)
- Successfully protested the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) status of a government contractor in connection with a Department of Veterans Affairs procurement, where the awardee was not unconditionally owned by a Service-Disabled Veteran. See CVE Protest of Randy Kinder Excavating, Inc. d/b/a RKE Contractors, SBA No. CVE-232 (June 13, 2022), aff’d, E&L Constr. Grp., LLC v. United States, 161 Fed. Cl. 570 (Aug. 3, 2022).
- Successfully intervened in a bid protest and defended a $200 million U.S. Army award for base operations and maintenance support services against allegations that the agency performed a flawed past performance evaluation. See Hughes Coleman, JV, B-417787.5 (July 29, 2020)
- Successfully defended a favorable size determination against allegations of general and ostensible subcontractor affiliation. See Size Appeal of Inquiries, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-6008 (2019)
- Successfully defended a favorable size determination against allegations that the joint venture awardee violated, among other things, SBA’s joint venture regulations. See Size Appeal of Glob. Dynamics, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-6012 (2019)
- Successfully protested a U.S. Air Force award where the awardee’s proposal failed to meet the material requirements of the solicitation. See CR/ZWS LLC, B-414766.2 (Sept. 13, 2017)
- Successfully protested a $30 million U.S. Army award for real property services where agency failed to conduct meaningful discussions and its best value tradeoff decision was not reasonably based. See Mevacon-Nasco JV, B-414329 (May 11, 2017)
- Successfully appealed the SBA’s decision to deny a government contractor entry into its 8(a) Business Development Program. See Management Solutions, LLC, SBA No. BDPE-2017-09-07-09 (2017)
- Successfully protested a government contract awardee’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) status
- Successfully argued and won a motion to dismiss in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland on behalf of a government contractor that had been sued by a former employee for breach of contract, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, wrongful termination, and violation of civil rights
- Won a judgment in favor of a government contractor that had been sued by a former teaming partner for breach of contract and unjust enrichment wherein the American Arbitration Association (AAA) held that the teaming agreement was unenforceable and unjust enrichment was not available
- Prosecuted an appeal for a government contractor at the ASBCA that resulted in a conversion of the contractor’s termination for default to a termination for convenience and increased CPARS
- Obtained a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and favorable settlement on behalf of a government contractor in a misappropriation of trade secrets case
- Obtained a preliminary injunction enjoining an individual and corporate defendant from competing with a government contractor on a federal procurement in a misappropriation of trade secrets case
- Successfully defended a Maryland corporation in an appeal for unemployment benefits before the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
- Successfully defended multiple requests for emergency equitable relief before the AAA
- Negotiated increased CPARS for multiple clients through the rebuttal, claims, and appeals processes
Credentials
Education
- George Mason University School of Law, J.D., 2014
- Saint Joseph’s University, B.S.B.A., 2011
Admissions
- Virginia
- District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Honors
Honors
Super Lawyers® Rising Star, Washington DC, Government Contracts, 2018-Present
Top Author, JD Supra Readers’ Choice Top Author 2020 Award