Executive Summary

Bob Metzger heads the Washington, D.C. office of Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, PC, a firm that has specialized in government contracts for over 40 years. Chambers USA 2021 placed RJO in “Band 2,” among the “Elite” group of government contracts law firms nationwide. RJO is the only “boutique” among the top seven firms in this group. Chambers describes RJO as:

“Well-respected government contracting boutique capable of handling a diverse array of federal, state and local procurement mandates on behalf of domestic and foreign clients. Notable litigation and regulatory capabilities, which include internal investigations, false claims proceedings and bid protests. Possesses particular expertise in technology matters, regularly representing clients in this space.”

Chambers USA 2021 ranked Bob in Band 2 for Government Contracts – Nationwide and said that he is “routinely called upon by clients in cybersecurity matters, assisting clients with high-stakes contract procurements, qui tam litigation and compliance issues.” The Legal 500 (2021) describes him as a “key contract” for cybersecurity issues and states that “he excels in procurement fraud and national security matters.” He is also described as having “developed an ‘exceptional’ reputation for litigation and bid protests, as well as cybersecurity-related issues.” Who’s Who Legal (2021) identifies Mr. Metzger as a “Global Leader” in Government Contracts, commenting that “[h]is expertise in government contracting and technological issues is wide-ranging.”

Professional Qualifications

Bob was Counsel of Record for Microsoft in the 2019-2021 litigation at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims defending the protest brought by Amazon Web Services to the DoD award of the “JEDI” cloud services contract to Microsoft. He also was lead counsel in the successful 2021 GAO protest brought by Microsoft to the award by the National Security Agency of the “WildandStormy” cloud services contract to AWS.

Bob is recognized for subject area leadership in cyber, supply chain and related security matters. As a Special Government Employee of the Department of Defense, Bob was on the Defense Science Board task force that produced the “Cyber Supply Chain Report” (April 2017) which subsequently received the SANS Institute “Difference Maker” award. He is a co-author of August 2018 MITRE “Deliver Uncompromised” Report that is widely credited with significant influence on a broad range of security initiatives of the Department of Defense and federal civilian agencies. The Report team received a “Program Recognition Award” from MITRE in 2019. Bob has participated in several other MITRE projects on national security and public policy subjects. He was named a 2016 “Federal 100” awardee by Federal Computer Week which cited his “ability to integrate policy, regulation and technology” and said of him: “In 2015, he was at the forefront of the convergence of the supply chain and cybersecurity, and his work continues to influence the strategies of federal entities and companies alike.”

Bob is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He was a Research Fellow at the Center for Science & International Affairs (presently, “Belfer Center”) at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he focused on European security and U.S.-Soviet strategic force competition. He has 67 publications, available here, is frequently quoted in media on national security, cyber and supply chain security subjects.

Education

J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
Editor, Georgetown University Law Journal

B.A., Middlebury College

Research Fellow, Center for Science & International Affairs
(now “Belfer Center”),
Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Bar Admissions

California
District of Columbia