Tom Daley

Thomas E. Daley

Associate
About

Tom Daley focuses his practice on assisting companies who do business with federal, state, and local governments with litigation matters, investigations, environmental matters, grants, and regulatory counselling and compliance issues. 

Tom has successfully litigated bid protests before the US Court of Federal Claims and US Government Accountability Office, as well as size protests before the Small Business Administration and Office of Hearings and Appeals.  Tom also represents contractors in claims under the Contract Disputes Act and other contract administration matters.  

Tom assists clients in Department of Justice Investigations, investigations brought by Inspectors General, and internal investigations. His work often includes issues involving procurement fraud or misconduct, and he has worked closely with government contractors on actions brought under the False Claims Act.

Tom also advises clients on evolving requirements relating to climate change and sustainable procurement that are becoming increasingly common in the federal procurement process.  He has counseled clients regarding disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and federal purchasing policies relating to sustainable products and services.  

Additionally, Tom helps clients pursue federal funding and grant opportunities related to the clean energy transition, including grants funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act (e.g., the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund). He works with clients on, among other things, a range of compliance-related issues that arise during performance of grants, including domestic content requirements (e.g., Build America, Buy America).

Tom is a widely published author who regularly writes and speaks about complex issues within the government contracts field, including bid protests, the False Claims Act, and sustainable procurement matters. His works have been published in leading government contracts publications, including the Public Contract Law Journal, Law360, PubK, and The Procurement Lawyer.

Bar admissionsDistrict of Columbia
CourtsUnited States Court of Federal ClaimsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

EXPERIENCE

Recent representative bid protest matters include:

  • Defended award of $800-million contract to aviation company before the GAO, Court of Federal Claims, and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
  • Successfully protested the National Institutes of Health’s evaluation of a client’s past performance, resulting in our client being reinstated to the procurement.
  • Successfully challenged the award of a $365-million Air Force contract, resulting in a contract award to our client.
  • Successfully protested the award of a $340-million Department of Veterans Affairs contract, resulting in a contract award to our client.
  • Obtained a permanent injunction preventing the Department of State from proceeding with award of a contract to our client’s competitor.
  • Obtained a court decision vacating a determination of the Small Business Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals finding our client to not be a small business.
  • Successfully requested an injunction pending an appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which allowed our client to continue performing an incumbent contract during the pendency of an appeal. 
  • Successfully protested the Marine Corps’ evaluation of our client’s proposal as well as the award decision, which required the Marine Corps to reopen the procurement and allow our client to submit a revised proposal.
Education
  • J.D., George Washington University Law School
    with high honors
    Order of the Coif
  • B.S., Business Administration, Susquehanna University

Awards

The Legal 500 United States

  • Recommended, Government Contracts (2024)
Additional Awards

Tom currently serves as a Vice Chair for the Procurement Fraud & False Claims Committee of the American Bar Association, Public Contract Law section.

The American Bar Association, Public Contract Law section, selected Tom as the winner of the 2020 Public Contract Law Journal Writing Competition, which evaluates submissions based on the technical quality of the paper and the significance of the paper to the government contracts field. Tom also was awarded the National Contract Management Association's 2017 Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. 

Pro Bono

Tom is a member of the Pro Bono Committee for the Washington, D.C. office. He maintains an active pro bono practice in which he counsels local small businesses on a variety of issues and assists in landlord-tenant disputes. Tom also has provided on support on matters relating to human rights issues in federal supply chains and helped Ukrainian refugees apply for Temporary Protected Status.  

Bylines

Seminars

  • Presenter, "Law As Technology: A Case Study in Green Procurement," Tenth International Research Study on Public Procurement (August 22, 2024)
  • Speaker, "GW Law Summer Series: Green Procurement Across Borders," The George Washington University (July 25, 2024)
  • Speaker, "GW Law Summer Series: Green Procurement Across Borders," The George Washington University (July 23, 2024)
  • Panelist, Net Zero Symposium at University of Oxford (June 25, 2024)
  • Presenter, "Green Procurement: International Trade Issues," SAPIENS Network Conference for Procurement and Sustainability Innovation (June 20, 2024)
  • Presenter, "U.S. Government Sustainable Procurement and ESG Policies," GRF's ESG Summit (April 24, 2024)

Media Mentions

Prior Experience

Prior to joining DLA Piper, Tom spent two years as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Marian Blank Horn of the United States Court of Federal Claims, assisting with bid protests, contract disputes, and other matters within the court's jurisdiction.

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