Dennis Ehlers represents government contractors large and small in disputes, bid protests, and claims before local, state (including the District of Columbia), and Federal contracting authorities and boards of contract appeals, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC), and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also has extensive experience in commercial construction law. He assists his government contract and commercial construction contractor and subcontractor clients in all phases of their dealings with owners (whether government or private owners) as well as prime contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. His work in the government contracts area is not limited to construction contracting but includes the entire spectrum of government procurement, including IT, base services contracts, other services contracts, manufacturing, architect-engineer contracts, and supply contracts including GSA Schedule contracts. Mr. Ehlers has many small, disadvantaged/minority, SBA 8(a), Alaskan native, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and service disabled veteran-owned small business clients and assists them in navigating the special rules and requirements to obtain and maintain their certification and status and otherwise assisting them to grow their businesses and protect their rights. He has worked collaboratively with SBA on presentations to SBA 8(a) contractors regarding the legal considerations of teaming agreements and joint ventures.
Mr. Ehlers has also been involved in litigating mold cases and, along with Larry Schor, published an article in the magazine of the Construction Specifications Institute, The Construction Specifier, regarding liability for mold and how such risks can be handled in drafting contract specifications. Further, Mr. Ehlers has co-authored the chapter on the Federal Corrupt Practices Act and Multinational Anti-Bribery Initiatives in the Construction Law Handbook. In his prior capacity as an Air Force Reserve contracts attorney, he co-authored a law journal article on the topic of Competition in Contracting Act stay overrides and what the COFC requires before finding the same reasonable and supportable.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ehlers served on active duty with the U.S. Air Force for eight years practicing law under the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). He served stateside and overseas as a base-level contracts attorney as well as practicing in several other areas, including government ethics, tort claims, medical malpractice, healthcare, federal employment, administrative, and criminal law. In March of 2008, he retired from the Air Force Reserve after 21 years of total service (both active duty and reserve) in the Army and Air Force. His last Reserve assignment was as a trial attorney assigned to the Air Force’s Commercial Litigation Division (Government Contracts), Arlington, Virginia, which defends the Air Force against bid protests and contract claims in the COFC and before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.
Mr. Ehlers has an LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree, With Highest Honors, from The George Washington University Law School, with an emphasis in Government Procurement Law. Mr. Ehlers received both a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree (Cum Laude) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Georgia’s School of Law and its graduate business school, the Terry College of Business, respectively, as well as a B.A. degree (Cum Laude) in Biology from Southern College. Mr. Ehlers is licensed in the District of Columbia and Maryland. He is a member of the Public Contract Law Section (PCLS) of the American Bar Association, and presently a vice chair to the Contract Claims and Dispute Resolution Committee Board of the PCLS. He is also a member of the Contract Appeals Bar Association and Federal Bar Association.
