WE ARE A VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS
WE ARE A VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS
Willoughby Humphrey & D’Antoni represents businesses in South Carolina bid protests, procurement challenges, contract controversies, and procurement records disputes before the Chief Procurement Officer, the Procurement Review Panel, and the courts.
Government contracts are awarded under their own set of rules. When a state agency, county, city, school district, or public college or university buys goods or services, it must follow procurement laws that govern how a solicitation is written, how bids and proposals are evaluated, and how the contract is awarded.
Most businesses that sell to the government focus on delivering their product or service, not on the procurement code. But when a solicitation is written in a way that shuts you out, when an award goes to a competitor that should not have received it, or when a dispute arises after the contract is signed, those rules decide what happens next. Procurement challenges move quickly, and the deadlines are short. In many cases, a protest must be filed within days of the posting of an award, and missing a deadline can end a challenge before it begins.
The procurement law attorneys at Willoughby Humphrey & D’Antoni represent bidders, offerors, and contractors in procurement matters under the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code and the procurement ordinances adopted by local governments. We handle protests and related proceedings before the State’s Chief Procurement Officers, the South Carolina Procurement Review Panel, and the circuit and appellate courts.
South Carolina’s system has its own structure. Many state purchases are made by individual agencies under the Procurement Code, while larger and more complex procurements are conducted or overseen by the Chief Procurement Officers within the State Fiscal Accountability Authority. Counties, municipalities, school districts, and other political subdivisions operate under their own procurement codes and ordinances, each with its own procedures and deadlines. Knowing which rules apply, and who decides a dispute, is the first step in any procurement matter.
We understand how agencies conduct evaluations, how protests are decided, and how the record is built. That experience allows us to give clients a candid assessment at the outset: whether a challenge is worth pursuing, what it can realistically achieve, and how it may affect the client’s ongoing relationship with the agency. Every procurement is different, and we develop a strategy tailored to each client’s business goals.
Our work often begins before bids are due. We help clients review solicitations, submit questions, and identify specifications or evaluation criteria that are ambiguous, unduly restrictive, or inconsistent with the law. When necessary, we file protests challenging the terms of a solicitation so problems can be corrected before an award is made.
After an award is announced, we evaluate whether the agency followed the law and the solicitation’s own requirements. Common issues include responsiveness and responsibility determinations, scoring and evaluation errors, improper communications, conflicts of interest, and decisions to cancel or reissue a solicitation. We prepare and file protests, pursue the protections of the automatic stay, present the case at hearing, and appeal adverse decisions to the Procurement Review Panel and the courts.
When a client receives an award, we defend it. A successful bidder has a substantial interest in protecting its contract, and we work to ensure that interest is fully presented when a competitor files a protest.
Access to information is often decisive. We help clients obtain procurement records through the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act and the Procurement Code’s own provisions for offerors, and we are prepared to enforce those rights in court when an agency fails to produce what the law requires.
We also advise clients on the rules that apply throughout the process, including procurement ethics and restrictions on communications with evaluators, bid and proposal requirements, and the terms of the contract itself.
Our role does not end at award. We advise contractors on contract controversies, claims for payment, terminations, and contract modifications, and we represent clients facing suspension or debarment proceedings that could affect their ability to compete for future work.
These matters require experience with both the procurement process and litigation, and we have it.
Use the form below to contact Willoughby Humphrey & D’Antoni to learn how our procurement law attorneys can help your business. If you have received notice of an intended award, or a solicitation that concerns you, contact us as soon as possible. Protest deadlines are short, and early action preserves your options.
Find out if we can help you with your unique set of circumstances.
