Profile
Aaron M. Levin focuses his practice on government contracts litigation before the Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC), Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), and Small Business Administration (SBA). Bringing a wide range of experience having previously worked for government agencies, he advises companies on all stages of federal acquisitions and government procurements, from solicitation to contract administration, to claims and litigation.
In addition, Aaron assists government contractors with publicly funded contract issues including: mergers and acquisitions; lending; corporate due diligence reviews; federal, state, and municipal ethics and other regulatory requirements; private disputes involving subcontractors; terminations; requests for equitable adjustments and claims; and government investigations.
Serving as Assistant General Counsel in the Contracts Group of the Office of General Counsel for the United States Department of Defense, Aaron reviewed and advised on federal government contracts to operate and maintain the Pentagon and the Department of Defense’s (DoD) associated facilities. He also identified and addressed government contracting regulatory and compliance issues relating to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (FAR/DFARS), cyber, intellectual property (IP), audits, disputes, bid protests, equitable adjustments, investigations, agreements, lawsuits, and claims.
Previously, Aaron served as an Ethics Specialist in the Office of Ethics of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he advised USDA employees and political appointees on topics raised by the Ethics in Government Act, such as gifts of travel, financial conflicts of interest, misuse of position, appearance issues, the Procurement Integrity Act, the Hatch Act, and lobbying. In this role, he reviewed, certified, and advised on financial disclosure reports to mitigate potential ethics violations. He also prepared and delivered ethics training and drafted agency responses to congressional inquiries, client recusal agreements, and referrals to the Inspector General.
Concentrations
- Government contracts
- Bid protests
- The Contract Disputes Act, equitable adjustments, and claims
- Small business program compliance
- Federal, state, and municipal ethics laws that apply to public contractors
- Inspector General and other government investigations
- Defense & national security issues
- The Procurement Integrity Act; the False Claims Act; the Hatch Act
- The Paycheck Protection Program and appeals of loan review decisions
- Government contracts intellectual property (rights in technical data and software)
- Suspension and debarment
- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Capabilities
Experience
- Challenged size status award before SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of $30M Defense Logistics Agency small business, 8(a) set-aside contract and prevailed.
- Challenged multimillion-dollar OHA appeal of final SBA loan review decision under the Paycheck Protection Program and prevailed.
- Prevailed in defending agency rescission of $268 million contract award of an information technology contract when the protester misrepresented the employment status of its key personnel.°
- Prevailed in challenge of agency’s improper state contract award in violation of the Virginia Public Procurement Act.
- Challenged agency regulations concerning the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
- Represented client in connection with a multimillion-dollar request for equitable adjustment and subsequent claim over the government’s decision not to exercise a contract option at the agency level and at the US Court of Federal Claims.
- Challenged Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision denying a veteran’s claim for service-connected disability benefits at the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
- Advised on performance dispute with major construction contractor, request for equitable adjustment, and claim determination.°
- Advised on contract management issues such as subcontracting agreements, flow down requirements, information security, proprietary data, schedule orders, organizational conflicts of interest, and government reseller arrangements.
- Conducted federal ethics, compliance, and Procurement Integrity Act training covering organizational conflicts of interest, gifts, appearance concerns, post-employment, the Hatch Act, and lobbying.°
- Proactive counseling on state and local ethics rules (including gifts, lobbying, campaign finance, and conflicts) that impact state government procurements and contractor award eligibility.
- Reviewed and certified financial disclosure reports for compliance and advised disclosing parties to mitigate potential ethics violations.°
- Advised on federal investigation and settlement strategy for False Claims Act allegations in contractor pricing.
- Reviewed draft Inspector General investigations, reports of investigation, and responses to the Office of Inspector General.°
- Counseled contracting officers on the formation, award, and performance of federal government contracts related to information technology services, construction, facilities/maintenance, environmental services support, logistics support, protective equipment, artificial intelligence, base operations support, and health support services.°
- Advised on FAR and DFARS compliance, federal solicitation requirements, evaluation of contractor proposals, including contractor exclusions from the competitive range, agency discussions, compensation plans, personnel matrices, question & answer (Q&A) submissions, evaluation and award decisions, organizational conflicts of interest, and fiscal and appropriations law.°
- Advised on contractor substitution of key personnel and potential misrepresentations in proposal submissions.°
- Advised on DoD’s implementation of emerging technologies and solicitations for artificial intelligence capabilities, force protection, security, and law enforcement at the Pentagon Reservation and other DoD-occupied facilities.°
- Advised on complex IDIQ solicitations and contracts related to health and wellness services, telemedicine, occupational health, and medical case review services.°
°Some of the above representations were handled by Mr. Levin prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
- Assistant General Counsel, Contracts Group, Washington Headquarters Services & Pentagon Force Protection Agency, Office of General Counsel, United States Department of Defense, 2018-2021
- Ethics Specialist, United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Ethics, Office of General Counsel, 2016-2018
- Legal Intern, United States Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Procurement Law and Litigation Divisions, Office of Chief Counsel, 2015-2016
- Honors Law Clerk, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance, Water Enforcement Division, 2015
- Ethics Intern, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Ethics, 2014
- Judicial Intern, Chief Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith, United States Court of Federal Claims, 2014
- Access to Markets Intern, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Business Development, Minority Business Development Agency, 2010
- Wealth Management Intern, Merrill Lynch, 2009
Recognition & Leadership
- Recipient, 2021 Department of Defense Spirit of Service Award, May 2021
- Team Member, USDA, “OGC Award for Excellence and Outstanding Team,” 2017
- Member, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), 2023-Present
- Volunteer, DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, 2022-Present
- Member, ABA Section of Public Contract Law, 2021-Present
- Volunteer Attorney, The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, 2021-Present
- Case Screener, Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, 2015
- Volunteer Law Clerk, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, Employment/Benefits Law Unit, 2014
- Legal Intern, The Gulf Center for Law and Policy, 2013
Credentials
-
J.D., The George Washington University Law School, 2016
- Notes Editor, The Federal Circuit Bar Journal
- B.A., Business Administration, University of California, Irvine, The Paul Merage School of Business, 2012
- California
- District of Columbia
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims