Jeremy D. Burkhart

Jeremy Burkhart is an experienced government contracts litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Tysons office. He focuses his practice on litigation, dispute resolution and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Mr. Burkhart provides counsel and representation on all government contract matters, including claims, contract appeals, teaming agreements, compliance requirements associated with the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) government contracting programs, and suspension and debarment. He is well versed in prosecuting and defending bid protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and at the agency level, and has litigated more than 100 bid protests. He also has significant knowledge of the issues facing government contractors engaged in M&A and has represented dozens of clients in the closing of such deals, as well as post-transaction matters such as novations.  

As a former agency counsel, Mr. Burkhart has substantial experience advising contracting officials and understands the government's priorities and concerns. He leverages this insight to craft strategies that successfully resolve clients' issues while preserving positive business relationships with government customers. A trusted counselor to many, he has advised Fortune 500 companies, federal government contracting officers and senior military officers. 

Mr. Burkhart's recent representative engagements include:

• filed a claim to upgrade a client's "marginal" rating in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS); after reviewing the claim, the contracting officer submitted a new evaluation in the CPAR system that included all "very good" and "exceptional" ratings
• represented a private equity firm in the $300 million equity purchase of a government contractor
• represented a defense contractor in a GAO bid protest challenging the award of a classified contract to a competitor; based on the arguments he raised in the protest, the agency took corrective action by reevaluating proposals, ultimately reversing its award decision and selecting the client for award; Mr. Burkhart then successfully defended the client as an intervenor in a protest filed by the competitor, securing award to the client   
• litigated a five-day hearing before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) on an appeal of a termination for default of a $32 million contract for the construction of an aircraft hangar; the case involved issues of delay, critical path and differing site conditions, as well as multiple expert witnesses
• negotiated data rights for a client in both a Technology Investment Agreement (TIA) and Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
• obtained relief for a lessor when the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) attempted to improperly terminate a lease early; Mr. Burkhart appealed the lease contracting officer's decision to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA); based on the strength of the complaint, GSA withdrew the partial termination  
• represented a small business contractor in responding to a letter of concern from the U.S. Department of the Navy's Suspension and Debarment Official; utilizing his experience advising on hundreds of DOD investigations, including investigations by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mr. Burkhart persuaded the Navy to take no action against the company    

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Burkhart served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a judge advocate general (JAG) for nine years, where he advised DOD officials on significant government acquisitions and regularly served as lead counsel in high-stakes litigation, including several jury trials. Mr. Burkhart is a veteran of the Afghanistan war and continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve.