Once-disappointed bidder gets onto $1.5B Justice litigation support contract

The Justice Department has added one company to a potential $1.5 billion contract covering broad professional services to DOJ attorneys and other staff involved in litigation proceedings.

DOJ originally chose four companies in late August, but one disappointed bidder in Ernst & Young subsequently filed a protest to object to their exclusion from an award.

Whatever points EY rose apparently resonated with DOJ, which undertook a corrective action and re-evaluated bids.

EY’s protest was dismissed in mid-October and the firm’s bid was indeed chosen one month later for iteration number five of the Automated Litigation Support vehicle known as Mega 5 ALS.

DOJ announced the award in a series of Nov. 20 Beta.Sam.Gov notices that also indicate the other four original winners kept their awards -- CACI International, Deloitte, Leidos and PAE.

All four original awardees are incumbents, according to Deltek data, including Leidos through its 2016 merger with the former Lockheed Martin IS&GS services business and PAE via its acquisition in 2015 of a business unit held by the now-defunct USIS.

The department received seven bids in total, according to Federal Procurement Data System information.

Solicitation documents indicate the awardees will be responsible for providing the administrative, logistical, professional, technical labor, supplies, equipment, facilities, materials and technologies necessary to help DOJ attorneys through all phases of legal proceedings.

Those proceedings include but are not limited to pre-filing investigations, complaints, discovery, trials, post-trial briefs and any appeals.

DOJ may use the contract to acquire support involving documents, databases, electronic data, resource planning and project management.