Jones Day Adds Ex-GAO Deputy Asst. G.C. Cherie Owen

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 -- The global law firm Jones Day has announced the arrival of Cherie Owen to the Firm's Washington Office, where she will be of counsel in the Government Regulation Practice.

Ms. Owen, who will focus her practice on matters relating to government contracts and bid protests, was previously a Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the Procurement Law Division at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), where she held several roles, including that of a senior bid protest hearing officer. In that capacity, she decided bid protests initiated by unsuccessful offerors on procurements, often with billions of dollars in contracts at stake.

"Cherie brings a unique set of experiences and skills that will make our already formidable Government Regulations Practice, particularly its Government Contracts component, even stronger," said Kevyn Orr, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's Washington Office. "She has substantial, deep, first-hand knowledge of bid protest proceedings that will be valued by our government contracts clients and others."

Ms. Owen's bid protests covered a broad spectrum of issues, including solicitation challenges, proposal evaluation challenges (including technical, past performance, and price evaluations), organizational conflicts of interest, Procurement Integrity Act violations, affirmative responsibility determinations, the conduct of discussions, and competitive range determinations. She has handled cases involving defense technology and weapons systems, environmental remediation, IT, and healthcare services, among others.

"Cherie brings us valuable experience from her time at the GAO," said Noel Francisco, who leads Jones Day's Government Regulation Practice. "She handled more than 600 protests and issued approximately 500 protest decisions, more than 90 of which have been formally published. Those accomplishments are certainly noteworthy and are indicative of the respect she has earned. We are very happy she is joining us at Jones Day."

While at the GAO, Ms. Owen provided training to other bid protest lawyers at the Office. She has spoken and written extensively on bid protests and other government contract matters. Recently promoted to the position of Deputy Assistant General Counsel, she also served as the reviewer for decisions written by other attorneys in her group. Since 2013, Ms. Owen also served as an Administrative Law Judge on the GAO Contract Appeals Board, where she ruled on a broad mix of traditional government contract disputes involving legislative branch agencies.

A member of the American Bar Association's Public Contract Law Section, Ms. Owen is vice chair of the Bid Protest Committee. She also is a member of the Board of Governors of the Board of Contract Appeals Bar Association.

Jones Day is a global law firm with 44 offices in major centers of business and finance throughout the world. Its unique governance system fosters an unparalleled level of integration and contributes to its perennial ranking as among the best in the world in client service. Jones Day provides significant legal representation for almost half of the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, and FT Global 500.