Amy L. Fuentes

Amy L. Fuentes is a government contracts attorney in Holland & Knight's Tysons office. Ms. Fuentes has extensive experience in all principal aspects of government contracting and federal assistance agreements.

Ms. Fuentes has a nationwide practice, where she counsels clients on compliance with the regulatory regime that governs federal contractors and grantees. While she represents contractors in a broad variety of government contracting issues, Ms. Fuentes' practice focuses on claims and appeals, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regulatory compliance and disputes, bid protests, compliance counseling and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Claims and Disputes

Ms. Fuentes has substantial experience analyzing, drafting and negotiating requests for equitable adjustments (REAs) and certified claims and appeals under the Contracts Disputes Act (CDA). She has successfully helped clients in responding to terminations for convenience, cure notices, terminations for default and other performance concerns, including negative Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs).

• assisted a small business contractor in receiving payment for unpaid invoices following a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) delay through submission of a certified claim and advocacy efforts with the agency
• successfully persuaded an agency to convert a client's termination for cause into a termination for convenience, with payment to the client, through an alternative dispute resolution process
• negotiated an equitable adjustment for a client following an agency's increased reporting requirements subject to a federal contract's changes clause
• secured a multimillion-dollar settlement recovering the vast majority of a claim (including all of the client's increased costs and about 90 percent of claimed profit) in ASBCA case by first-chairing certified claim drafting and submission, including the management of a complex discovery process (including the resolution of document production disputes and deposition preparation and defense) and engagement of a damages expert (including active involvement in preparation and submission of a compelling report and rebuttal report that played a large role in motivating the government to settle)
• secured a multimillion-dollar settlement in an ASBCA case by first-chairing a claim submission and litigation effort, including development of novel legal theories and taking/defending key depositions of government officials and client employees in a series of disputes arising from the government's failure to incorporate relevant Service Contract Act (SCA) and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) requirements into Solicitations and Contract awards
• secured a voluntary dismissal of a government claim before the CBCA following a motion to dismiss on failure to state grounds on which the board could grant relief
• recovered the vast majority (more than 80 percent) of a certified claim for additional compensation costs under a large contract to provide depot-level maintenance services
• successfully overturned a negative CPAR prepared by the USAID
• successfully overturned a negative CPAR prepared by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
• successfully overturned a negative CPAR prepared by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)

Small Business Contracting

Ms. Fuentes has vast knowledge and experience in handling small business compliance issues within government contracting law. She is co-chair of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Public Contract Law Section's Small Business and Other Socioeconomic Programs Committee and has substantial experience counseling small, midsize and large government contractors on all aspects of the SBA's socioeconomic government contracting programs, including the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), 8(a) Business Development, Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) and the SBA's Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP).

Ms. Fuentes is a seasoned litigator with significant experience in bringing and successfully defending size and status protests and appeals, as well as North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code appeals, before SBA area offices and the SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). She has also drafted and negotiated dozens of small business operating agreements to ensure compliance with SBA regulations, as well as mentor-protégé agreements and joint venture agreements, and is well versed in advising clients on small business subcontracting plan compliance and affiliation issues. Her recent notable achievements in small business matters include:

• successfully defended SDVOSB in a status protest and size protest and maintaining army medical instructor and operator medical simulation support services contract award
• successfully defended a size protest involving allegations of affiliation and private equity investor control and secured company's intelligence agency contract for information system services
• successfully defended a WOSB in a status protest and maintaining army cybersecurity services task order award
• successfully defended a size protest of a joint venture created pursuant to SBA's MPP and secured army contract for program management and engineering support services
• assisted an Indian Tribe in receiving expedited approval for entrance into SBA's 8(a) Business Development program by corresponding with SBA officials and resolving outstanding application questions
• assisted SDVOSB in quickly receiving SBA-certification by corresponding with SBA officials prior to losing eligibility for pending set-aside awards

Government Contracts Counseling and Compliance Services

Ms. Fuentes is a trusted adviser to her clients on a variety of federal procurement matters and has successfully guided contractors of all sizes through the complexities of government regulations, including regulatory compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) and other agency FAR supplements. She has substantial experience advising clients on entering and navigating the federal marketplace, with a particular focus on General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) requirements and compliance, small business issues including under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and federal grants. In addition, Ms. Fuentes is experienced at developing a wide range of comprehensive contractor compliance programs and provides strategic counsel to her clients' management teams on best practices and the establishment of robust internal processes and controls to safeguard against regulatory risks.

Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements

Ms. Fuentes is also an experienced federal grants and cooperative agreements attorney. She has a deep understanding of the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards and provides comprehensive counsel on compliance with federal assistance regulations. Additionally, Ms. Fuentes offers strategic advice on responding to grant terminations and grant closeout procedures, helping clients navigate the challenges and mitigate potential risks associated with such situations.

Bid Protests

Ms. Fuentes is a seasoned protest litigator before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) and Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA). She is also experienced at handling and defending appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Her recent notable achievements include:

• successfully protested the terms of a Library of Congress (LOC) solicitation for an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with an estimated value of $150 million for cloud computing products and services as being unduly restrictive of competition
• successfully protested the terms of a U.S. Department of the Army solicitation for an IDIQ contract for operations and maintenance services for sites and facilities in Afghanistan by arguing the evaluation criteria and adjectival ratings conflicted regarding the basis on which proposals would be evaluated
• successfully protested the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) price evaluation and award of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for cloud services by arguing that one of the awardees failed to provide pricing discounts that complied with the solicitation requirements
• successfully protested the FAA's award of a small business program support services multiple award contract, with an estimated ceiling value of $1 billion for all contracts, which resulted in a contract award for the client
• successfully defended a DOD $780 million task order for multi-network support services
• successfully defended a U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) BPA award with an estimated value of $180 million for information technology support services
• successfully defended a HHS $38.5 million task order award for information technology support services
• successfully defended a DHS $32 million task order award for enterprise cybersecurity services
• successfully defended a DOD $15 million task order award for data support services
• successfully defended an Army $10 million task order award for water resource engineering services

Transactions

Ms. Fuentes regularly advises clients on a broad spectrum of government contracts issues in transactions. She is experienced in reviewing purchase agreements, conducting due diligence in connection with the M&A of government contractors and advising on compliance requirements associated with the SBA's government contracting programs. Ms. Fuentes also has substantial experience drafting and negotiating teaming agreements, subcontracts, non-disclosure agreements, joint venture agreements and Other Transaction Agreements (OTA).

Investigations

Ms. Fuentes represents government contractors in government and internal investigations related to procurement/grant fraud and procurement integrity allegations. She has advised companies in responding to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Inspector General (IG) investigations from various federal agencies involving the False Claims Act (FCA). Ms. Fuentes is also experienced in assisting government contractors in responding to information or documents made through civil investigative demands (CID), IG subpoenas, grand jury subpoenas and regulatory audits.

Pro Bono

Ms. Fuentes has an active pro bono practice and represents clients in a range of matters, including service-connected disability claims for veterans and immigration court and related proceedings for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) cases. Within the firm, Ms. Fuentes co-chairs the Women's Initiative Affinity Group for the Tysons office.

During law school, Ms. Fuentes served as the editor-in-chief of the Public Contract Law Journal, which is published by the ABA's Section of Public Contract Law. She also interned with the Honorable Judge Jimmie V. Reyna of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and served as a law clerk in the Fraud Section of the Civil Division of the Commercial Litigation Branch at the DOJ.

Prior to practicing law, Ms. Fuentes competed as an NCAA Division I student-athlete and worked as a contract's administrator for a Fortune 500 company and an SDVOSB. This experience has provided her with a practical understanding of the regulatory and compliance issues government contractors often encounter and allows her to assist clients in achieving their strategic business goals.