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Scott A. Freling

Scott Freling co-chairs the firm’s Government Contracts practice and is recognized by Chambers USA as a leading practitioner. He divides his practice between representing civilian and defense contractors in traditional government contracts matters and guiding buyers and sellers—including a number of leading private equity firms—through the regulatory aspects of complex M&A deals involving government contractors.

Chambers USA ranks Scott as a Band 1 lawyer for Government Contracts M&A. Scott is sought after for his regulatory expertise and his ability to apply that knowledge to the transactional environment. He has extensive experience leading classified and unclassified due diligence reviews of government contractors, negotiating transaction documents, and assisting with integration and other post-closing activities. He has served as the lead government contracts lawyer in dozens of M&A deals, with a combined value of more than $80 billion. Scott’s notable transactions include Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners’ take-private acquisition of TRIUMPH for $3 billion, Advent International’s take-private acquisition of Maxar Technologies for $6.4 billion, Aptiv’s acquisition of Wind River for $3.5 billion, and Veritas Capital’s sale of Alion Science and Technology to Huntington Ingalls Industries for $1.65 billion.

Scott also represents contractors at all stages of the procurement process and in their dealings with federal, state, and local government customers. He handles a wide range of government contracts matters, including compliance counseling, contract terminations, claims, disputes, audits, and investigations. Scott frequently advises contractors on organizational conflicts of interest and government intellectual property rights. He also counsels clients on risk mitigation strategies, including obtaining SAFETY Act liability protection for anti-terrorism technologies.

Law360 has recognized Scott as a MVP in Government Contracts. He was a founding co-chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the ABA’s Public Contract Law Section.

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During his first two months in office, President Trump has taken numerous executive actions likely to impact federal government contractors and grant recipients.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This timeline provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this timeline was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of March 26, 2025

On March 20, 2025, President Trump issued executive order (“EO”) Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement, which will have significant effects on federal government contracting.  The EO is intended to consolidate “domestic Federal procurement” within the General Services Administration (“GSA”) to “eliminate waste and duplication.”

The EO has two primary objectives:

  1. It grants GSA an increased role in the U.S. Government’s acquisition of “common goods and services”.
  2. It designates the GSA Administrator as “the executive agent for all Government-wide acquisition contracts for information technology” pursuant to 40 U.S.C. § 11302(e).[1]

We have summarized key provisions and potential effects of the EO further below.

Continue Reading Executive Order Issued To Expand GSA’s Role in Acquisition of “Common Goods and Services” and Information Technology

During his first eight weeks in office, President Trump has taken numerous executive actions likely to impact federal government contractors and grant recipients.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This timeline provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this timeline was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of March 19, 2025

On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress, and highlighted many of the actions his administration has taken during his first six weeks in office.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This document provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this document was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of March 12, 2025

On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress, and highlighted many of the actions his administration has taken during his first six weeks in office.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This post provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this document was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of March 5, 2025

As previously discussed on this blog, President Trump issued several executive orders (“EOs”) and memoranda, many of which may have implications for federal contractors and grant recipients.  During the first 30 days of the second Trump Administration, Covington’s Government Contracts Practice Group has tracked developments related to these EOs…

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions

In his first few days in office, President Trump issued several executive orders (“EOs”) and memoranda, many of which may have implications for federal contractors and grant recipients, including the following:

Continue Reading President Trump Issues Numerous Executive Orders with Potential Impacts on Federal Contractors and Grant Recipients

Yesterday, the FAR Council issued a proposed rule that would update the U.S. Government’s approach to organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs).  While the proposed rule is not finalized and may change in response to forthcoming comments from interested parties, the proposed rule contemplates major changes to the FAR’s existing framework in this area.  In this post, we summarize the background leading up to the proposed rule and highlight key areas of proposed change.

Background

Continue Reading The Proposed FAR Rule on OCIs: Big Changes May Be Coming

SBA’s “Rule of Two” often requires federal agencies to set aside an acquisition for small businesses whenever there is reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from at least two small businesses that are competitive in terms of fair market prices, quality, and delivery. 

On Friday, SBA issued a Proposed Rule that would extend the reach of the Rule of Two by applying it to orders issued under many multiple-award contracts.  As such, under SBA’s proposal, agencies would be required to set aside an order under a multiple-award contract when there is a reasonable expectation of obtaining competitive offers from two or more small business contract holders, unless an exception – including an exception for Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts – applies.

SBA believes that this rule, if adopted, would: (1) align multiple-award contract purchases with the Small Business Act’s requirement that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts for goods and services be awarded to small businesses; (2) resolve confusion created by contradictory interpretations of the Rule of Two; and (3) increase contracting opportunities for small businesses, particularly small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs).  

More details are below. 

Continue Reading It Takes Two: SBA Proposes Applying “Rule of Two” to Multiple-Award Contracts

The Office of Strategic Capital (“OSC”) within the Department of Defense (“DOD”) has launched a Credit Program, under which it will provide debt financing in critical technology areas that drive national and economic security.  As an initial step, OSC is soliciting applications for equipment loans, which may be submitted between…

Continue Reading DOD Office of Strategic Capital Begins Its Direct Lending Efforts to Secure U.S. Industrial Base