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Kayleigh Scalzo

Ranked by Chambers USA among government contracts practitioners, Kayleigh Scalzo represents government contractors in bid protests and other high-stakes litigation matters with the government and other private parties. She has litigated bid protests in a wide variety of forums, including the Government Accountability Office, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, FAA Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition, federal and state agencies, and state courts.

Kayleigh a co-chair of the American Bar Association Public Contract Law Section’s Bid Protest Committee. She is also a frequent speaker on bid protest issues.

Kayleigh maintains an active pro bono practice focused on immigration issues and gender rights.

Massachusetts aims to be the “cornerstone of the defense industry,” with Governor Maura Healey announcing nearly $47 million in government funding for defense-related projects.  Last year, the Department of Defense ranked Massachusetts ninth out of the top ten states in total Defense spending in FY2023, and the state is aiming

Continue Reading Massachusetts Seeks to Expand Defense Footprint with Nearly $47 Million in New Projects

Two cornerstone authorities for federal contracting quietly expired on September 30, 2025, creating ripple effects that contractors—small and large—cannot afford to overlook.  The Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (“SBIR/STTR”) programs, commonly known as “America’s Seed Fund” for their role in fueling early-stage innovation, and the Defense Production Act

Continue Reading Expired:  SBIR/STTR and DPA Authorities in Limbo

As part of the Trump Administration’s Revolutionary FAR Overhaul[1] (“RFO”), the FAR Council has released a model deviation for FAR Part 33 – Protests, Disputes, and Appeals, which includes changes that seem intended to make agency-level protests more appealing to disappointed offerors.  It remains to be seen whether these proposed changes will have the desired effect, particularly in instances where a protester wishes to subsequently re-file at GAO.Continue Reading Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Seeks to Make Post-Award, Agency-Level Protests More Enticing

This blog previously covered the Federal Circuit’s decision in Percipient.ai, Inc. v. United States, which addressed bid protest jurisdiction and standing at the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”), and seemed to potentially open the door to a new category of protests.  Now, in an en banc ruling, the Federal Circuit vacated that decision and reached a different conclusion on bid protest standing.  The Federal Circuit left the jurisdictional questions unresolved, but even if future decisions construe COFC’s jurisdiction broadly, the Federal Circuit’s decision on standing will likely limit the universe of new protests that might otherwise result from such a broad construction of jurisdiction.    Continue Reading En Banc Decision in Percipient.ai, Inc. v. United States:  Federal Circuit Holds That Only Actual or Prospective Bidders or Offerors Have Bid Protest Standing Under Tucker Act

As we have covered on this blog, the rules governing the timing for bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) and Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) can be both complex and unforgiving.  But a recent COFC decision, Starside Security & Investigation, Inc. v. United States, found the Competition in Contract Act’s (“CICA”) deadline to obtain an automatic stay during a GAO protest to be subject to equitable tolling (i.e., effectively extended) — at least in the circumstances of that case.Continue Reading COFC Decision Allows for Equitable Tolling of CICA Deadline to Obtain an Automatic Stay During a GAO Protest

On July 29, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination.”  The memorandum purports to offer “guidance” and “Best Practices” to recipients of federal funding, including “non-binding suggestions to help entities comply with federal antidiscrimination laws and avoid legal pitfalls.” 

Continue Reading DOJ Issues Memorandum for Federal Funding Recipients Addressing“Unlawful Discrimination” Practices

Since President Trump issued Executive Order (“E.O.”) 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement” on April 15, 2025 as part of an effort to remake Federal procurement, the Administration has undertaken a variety of initial steps to implement its so-called “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (“RFO”).  These steps include “streamlining” each Part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) on a rolling basis to remove “non-statutory requirements.”  To date, seven streamlined FAR Parts have been released on the RFO page of acquisition.gov:  Parts 1, Federal Acquisition Regulation; 10, Market Research; 11, Describing Agency Needs; 18, Emergency Acquisitions; 34, Major System Acquisition; 39, Acquisition of Information and Communication Technology; and 43, Contract Modifications.  The public has the opportunity to provide “informal input” for each Part—the soonest of which is to provide feedback on FAR Part 10 by July 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM ET.[1]   Although the volume of streamlined FAR Parts, non-regulatory resources, and commentary on acquisition.gov has started to proliferate in recent weeks, the extent to which these resources can and will be relied on in a strategic, accessible manner by the broader acquisition community still remains to be seen. Continue Reading Continued Signs of Progress in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul

President Trump issued a series of executive orders (“EOs”) and presidential memoranda on Wednesday, April 9, that could impact government contractors across a broad range of industries.  Among other initiatives, these executive actions seek to reform the defense acquisition system, reinvigorate the U.S. maritime industry, and streamline foreign military sales.  The actions also reflect President Trump’s goal of catalyzing innovation and economic growth by reducing regulatory burdens, both in general and in the energy industry specifically.

We briefly summarize below the six April 9 executive actions most likely to impact government contractors.Continue Reading New Executive Actions Address the Defense Acquisition System, U.S. Maritime Industries, Foreign Military Sales, and “Unlawful” Regulations

Updated as of April 30, 2025

Over the first one-hundred days of the second Trump Administration, Covington’s Government Contracts Practice has tracked the latest developments related to recent executive actions most relevant to federal contractors and grantees.  This April edition of our key developments timeline provides a targeted overview of

Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions: April Edition

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 April 2, 2025