A Lesson on Establishing “Standing” in Bid Protests

Davis Wright Tremaine – A critical hurdle to filing a viable bid protest is to establish "standing." Standing, in the context of a bid protest, requires that the offeror bringing the protest be an "interested party," i.e., a prospective bidder whose "direct economic interest would be affected by the award of the contract or by failure to award the contract." To meet this threshold, the prospective bidder must demonstrate that it had a substantial chance of winning the subject contract.