Government contract law governs the agreements through which government bodies buy goods and services from private businesses. Selling to the government differs in important ways from ordinary commercial dealings, because public contracting is bound by additional rules designed to promote fairness, competition, and accountability.
Common matters include competing for government contracts, understanding and complying with contract requirements, the bidding and proposal process, disputes over contract performance or payment, and challenges to how a contract was awarded. It also covers ongoing compliance obligations that apply throughout the life of a public contract.
Key concepts a non-lawyer should understand include the heavy emphasis on competition and standardized procedures in awarding public contracts; the existence of formal processes to protest or challenge an award believed to be improper; and the principle that government contractors take on specific compliance obligations that go beyond those in typical private agreements. The rules can be detailed and unforgiving of mistakes.
This field is most relevant to businesses that sell, or want to sell, to government bodies, from large contractors to small companies entering the public market. They typically consult a lawyer to compete for contracts properly, to ensure compliance, to resolve a dispute over performance or payment, or to challenge or defend a contract award.
