No SBA Protest Review of Approved 8(a) Mentor-Protégé JVs

In Trident, LLC (Jan. 24, 2012), the SBA’s Office of Hearing and Appeals found that SBA area offices have no jurisdiction to review the substance of 8(a) mentor-protégé agreements or joint venture agreements if they have been approved by the SBA’s Office of Business Development before the “final award” of an 8(a) contract. OHA then reversed the size determination made by the area office because it had “no authority (or reason)” to repeat a review of the joint venture agreement for compliance.