Suspension and Debarment as a Legal Specialty? Forum
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Anonymous User
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Suspension and Debarment as a Legal Specialty?
Does anyone have experience with working in Suspension and Debarment at a government agency? I am interested in government contracts and understand this is a rather specific, niche field. I am curious if it is "too niche" or something that is transferable as a skillset?
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Anonymous User
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Re: Suspension and Debarment as a Legal Specialty?
Hey. I dunno if you're still looking for feedback. I worked in my agency's affirmative litigation office for a time before leaving for a different office. It's not particularly great work lol There are debarments (not so much suspensions, since they're so short-term) that can become quite contentious and involve massive discovery. But usually, the legal issues are quite straightforward and uninteresting. "He violated the terms of his contract and lacked present responsibility": end of legal brief. It can just be a factual nightmare but those cases, at least at my agency (with probably does more debarring than most) are few and far between.
With that said, it's kinda niche. But all agencies do it, and I think ultimately, no one should try to focus on debarment work career-wise. Particularly since I'm not sure how likely debarment experience is to get one hired at another job. It's not a bad set of experience if it's available to you, since it can get you some pretty heavy fact-finding experience. Which in agency litigation, isn't common since other forms of agency lit tend to settle before fact-finding as they try to preserve their government contracts.
Anyway, I'm not sure if that answers your question. You can gain some transferable skills, but it isn't guaranteed. The work is, in my opinion, pretty uninteresting and isn't likely to open tons of doors (except insofar as you gain general lit experience and a deeper knowledge of government programs/contracting). But if you're interested in litigation and have the opportunity to do some debarment work, it might be worth a shot. I left litigation altogether at my agency, so I may be a bit biased against litigation generally hahah Anyway, good luck! I'll try and answer any other questions you have if I remember to log on, since I know it can be so tough getting info about govt work especially on this site.
With that said, it's kinda niche. But all agencies do it, and I think ultimately, no one should try to focus on debarment work career-wise. Particularly since I'm not sure how likely debarment experience is to get one hired at another job. It's not a bad set of experience if it's available to you, since it can get you some pretty heavy fact-finding experience. Which in agency litigation, isn't common since other forms of agency lit tend to settle before fact-finding as they try to preserve their government contracts.
Anyway, I'm not sure if that answers your question. You can gain some transferable skills, but it isn't guaranteed. The work is, in my opinion, pretty uninteresting and isn't likely to open tons of doors (except insofar as you gain general lit experience and a deeper knowledge of government programs/contracting). But if you're interested in litigation and have the opportunity to do some debarment work, it might be worth a shot. I left litigation altogether at my agency, so I may be a bit biased against litigation generally hahah Anyway, good luck! I'll try and answer any other questions you have if I remember to log on, since I know it can be so tough getting info about govt work especially on this site.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Suspension and Debarment as a Legal Specialty?
Thanks so much for this response! I was the OP. I ended up not pursuing the opportunity. I agree with everything you wrote. I was also worried about the skillset being transferrable outside of DC.
