1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |When Does An Oral Presentation Become A "Discussion"?

When Does An Oral Presentation Become A "Discussion"?

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.04.04

GAO ruled that an offeror’s oral presentation and the ensuing question and answer session did not become "discussions" that would trigger other offerors’ rights to revise their proposals, upholding a huge military health services contract award in Sierra Military Health Services (Dec. 5, 2003) — a protest in which Crowell & Moring represented the awardee. Tackling a difficult issue with a fact-bound decision, GAO held that an offeror’s presentation and the Q&A session constitute "discussions" only if agency personnel gave that offeror a chance to revise its proposal in, for example, the answers to the evaluators’ questions.

Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 09.12.25

SBA’s OHA Further Defines Extraordinary Action in SDVOSB Appeal

On September 4, 2025, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) granted an appeal challenging SBA’s determination that a service-disabled veteran did not control an entity applying for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) status based on a minority owner’s ability to block certain actions in the matter of VSBC Appeal of: Blue Skye Foods, LLC, SBA No. VSBC-442-A....