Ben R. Smith

Ben R. Smith is a government contracts attorney in Holland & Knight's Tysons office and a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice. Mr. Smith's practice focuses on bid protests, contract claims, small business counseling, transactions involving government contractors, government contracts compliance, federal grant compliance and investigations, offering strategic solutions to clients as they navigate the procurement process.

Mr. Smith offers counseling to government contractors and federal grant recipients. He has in-depth knowledge of U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) procurement regulations and frequently counsels small business clients on compliance requirements. Mr. Smith also has a significant background in representing government contractors in bid protest litigation and assisting government contractors through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In addition to his work with work with federal procurements, Mr. Smith also advises clients on issues concerning state and local procurements.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Smith was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Thompson M. Dietz of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In this role, he gained hands-on experience handling litigation related to bid protests, contract claims, federal takings and military pay, as well as other areas of law in the court's specialized jurisdiction.

While in law school, Mr. Smith served as a research assistant to Christopher Yukins, the Lynn David Research Professor in Government Procurement Law at The George Washington University Law School, and contributed research and analysis to a report to the Administrative Conference of the United States that made recommendations for improvements to the agency-level protest procedures across the federal government. Mr. Smith also gained valuable insight into procurements at the local level as an intern in Office of General Counsel for the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Financial Officer.