Howard Roth
(The following information was supplied by the firm)
Howard is a key member of Smith Currie Oles’ newly combined government contracts practice, along with Jake Scott. Howard has nearly 40 years of experience advising on government contract law matters. He is a knowledgeable advisor on terminations, procurement disputes, Requests for Equitable Adjustment (REAs), claims, protests, Buy America/Buy American, rights in technical data and computer software, and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITARS) and export controls . Howard advises and assists clients in managing compliant cybersecurity and information technology safeguards. He is experienced in high-visibility cases, including complex litigation and more than 100 adversarial proceedings at Government Accountability Office (GAO), Court of Federal Claims, Armed Services Board of Contract Appeal (ASBCA), Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA),  and alternate dispute resolution (ADR) forums. In 2021 and 2022 Howard made new law in successfully establishing that the Court of Federal Claims had bid protest jurisdiction over Other Transaction Authority (OTA) projects in two protests at the Court of Federal Claims.
Howard also has vast experience in the maritime industry, handling matters on ship construction and repair projects for the U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, NOAA, and U.S. Army.
Howard has a list of accolades and accomplishments that few in his industry can rival – recipient of the Army Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster for expertise and achievement in GAO protests and contract appeals, legal advisor on defense of a $41 million construction contract appeal to the CBCA, legal counsel for a nationwide Government Enterprise IT network, advisor on contracts for the $1.5 billion MARAD NSMV ship procurement program, and advisor to construction contractors on the termination for convenience of their southern border wall contract/subcontract by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Committed to sharing his knowledge of the industry, Howard is a frequent speaker and author on issues relating to contract formation/protests and litigation of contract disputes/claims. He is a Lieutenant Colonel, Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps USA Retired). His JAG experience includes Trial Team Chief at the Army Contract Appeals Division litigating GAO bid protests and contract appeals at the ASBCA, Commissioner at the ASBCA, and Deputy General Counsel at the Army’s Support Command in Silicon Valley California.
Er spricht auch Deutsch, wenn auch etwas malerisch. También habla español.
Representative Matters
- Successfully represented ship yards on the West and East coasts in appeals at the ASBCA and in federal district court.
- Successfully represented ship managers and port operators on the East and West coasts in winning contracts and recovering additional contract claim costs.
- Ongoing representation of ship construction manager for construction of a series of 5 ocean going vessels.
- Successfully represented ship yards on the West and East coasts in appeals at the ASBCA and in federal district court.
- Defended a protest involving multi-million-dollar service contract resulting in successful outcome.
- Successful in defeating Agency override of the GAO bid protest automatic stay of contract performance.
- Successfully protested U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command’s award of a $32 million O/M contract for the SBX-1 – the floating, self-propelled, mobile radar system used by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to detect and track incoming ICBMs fired at the United States. GAO sustained our protest, finding that agency had made numerous errors in the evaluation of the awardee’s past performance, and awarded our client its attorneys’ fees. TOTE Services, Inc., B-414295, B-414295.2, 2017 WL 2417191 (Comp. Gen. April 25, 2017).Â
- Successful post-award GAO bid protest challenging the award of a $375 million contract awarded by NASA for engineering, research, and scientific support services. GAO sustained our client’s protest, finding numerous errors in the past performance and cost realism evaluations, and also recommended NASA reimburse our client’s attorneys’ fees. Trident Vantage Sys., LLC; SKER-SGT Eng’g & Sci., LLC, B-415944 et al., 2018 CPD ¶ 166, 2018 WL 2355998 (Comp. Gen. 2018).
- Provided full range of legal counsel to the Army program manager responsible for construction of over 50 buildings in seven states.
- Resolved government contract law issues for an Army acquisition team developing a nationwide IT data center with 45,000 users at 900 sites.
- Conducted over 150 contract appeals as a Commissioner at the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.
- Counsel to shipyards and construction companies on preparing Requests for Equitable Adjustments.
- Counsel to clients seeking to do business in the federal marketplace.
- Successful representation of an Ability One contractor in a protest at GAO.
- Successful representation of construction contractor with an appeal to the ASBCA.
- Legal advisor on defense of a $41 million appeal to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA).
- Regularly handle matters before the ASBCA, the CBCA, the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals, the GAO, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and federal district courts.