Jayna

Jayna Marie Rust advises recipients and awardees of Federal contracts, grants, loans, and other financial assistance and represents them in litigation involving claims and bid protests.

Few attorneys have the deep experience advising and representing clients in both government contracts and Federal grants that Jayna brings to the table. Because she has represented numerous types of clients (including prime contractors, subcontractors, prime recipients, subrecipients, Federal awarding agencies, and state/local recipients who pass through Federal funding), she is able to bring a uniquely practical approach to resolving government contracts and grants issues. Clients praise her ability to help them understand and efficiently address their complex matters and questions.

Jayna’s practice includes helping clients recover funds owed under contracts and grants, and she regularly challenges adverse agency actions, protests problematic contract awards, and defends against competitors’ protests. Resolving client issues often means she represents them before the awarding agency, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Small Business Administration, Boards of Contract Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and other fora. An adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School, Jayna teaches the school’s Government Contracts Claims course, which guides future and practicing attorneys in understanding the nuances of litigating contract-based claims involving the Federal Government.

Government contractors regularly turn to Jayna for counsel regarding mergers and acquisitions, conversions, name changes, and other corporate transactions when government contracts are involved. And when issues arise between contractors, she represents them in prime/sub disputes before state courts or Federal district courts and in arbitration hearings. She also counsels clients in negotiating subcontractor agreements and complying with contractor-specific regulations and policies, including small-business requirements and domestic-preference policies such as the Buy American Act; the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA); the Trade Agreements Act; and the Cargo Preference Acts. She also helps companies understand labor and employment obligations specific to their Federal funding, including those related to the Service Contract Act, Davis-Bacon Act, and Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors.

Jayna counsels nonprofit and for-profit recipients of Federal grants and loans on matters involving their Federal financial assistance. She regularly assists clients in negotiating subrecipient agreements, in complying with 2 CFR (including the “Uniform Guidance” in Part 200), and in preparing for and responding to investigations, audits, and reviews related to those obligations. She has also worked with clients to understand agencies’ unique approaches and supplemental regulations and in assessing and addressing terminations of grants.