They’ve Got Next: Government Contracts Fresh Face Steve Cave

It takes “an incredible amount of work to get a desired outcome.”

That’s how Steve Cave characterized his work defending SpaceX’s $2.6 billion NASA contract from Sierra Nevada Corp.'s protest, a move with importance for the entire space program, he says.

On Sept. 16, 2014, NASA announced that it had awarded contracts to The Boeing Co. and SpaceX to transport US crews to and from the International Space Station.

Days later, on September 26, Sierra Nevada Corp. alleged that NASA should have recognized that SpaceX had insufficient financial resources, which posed a risk to performance, among other claims.

Cave and his legal team—while at Morrison Foerster—convinced the Government Accountability Office to deny the protest on Jan. 5, 2015.

“To manage a high stakes matter, you have to acquire the requisite communication skills and experience to manage all of the relevant parties and their expectations, including the client’s expectations,” Cave said.

And “you have to learn lessons from all of your prior engagements, including protests, and apply them during the most challenging matters, which includes the SpaceX protest,” he said.

Cave added that the value of this procurement was important, but the “protest had much larger implications for the space program.”

NASA’s programs “were at pivotal point because our country was relying on Russian rockets, which was a risky position to maintain. Defending SpaceX’s contract for Commercial Crew Transportation was an important step towards SpaceX continuing to meet its potential for success across the board and relieve various pressure points that had arisen within our space program,” he said.

Months prior to the SpaceX decision, he and a legal team helped an engineering company win a protest of a $46 million task order for engineering support services, asset staging services, and installation services on board ships identified by the US Navy.

These days, since joining King & Spalding in February 2020, Steve works on a mix of bid protest work and mergers and acquisitions. He has served as primary counsel in numerous transactions, including Booz Allen Hamilton’s acquisitions of Liberty IT Solutions, Tracepoint and EverWatch.

Booz Allen Hamilton’s acquisition of Liberty IT in May 2021 was worth $725 million. The acquisition of EverWatch in October 2022 was worth $440 million; and the acquisition of Tracepoint was finalized in September 2021 for an undisclosed amount.

“Deals are so much fun because, although you are generally certain that the deal will take unique twists and turns, you never know what those will reveal until you are deep into the matter,” Cave said.

Cave also assisted companies in helping the country during the Covid-19 pandemic. He represented a biopharmaceutical company in negotiating government agreements to deliver a vaccine.

“Working day and night to help a company get a vaccine distribution agreement, to help instill confidence in the country, was extremely rewarding,” he said.

He also helped a supply and logistics company obtain a contract to replenish the Strategic National Stockpile, which is made up of supplies, medicines, and devices needed as a short-term buffer when a health threat emerges.

“We are utilizing the lessons learned from the pandemic to take steps to avoid the shortfall in supplies that we experienced during the pandemic, with a hope that leaders will actively choose to continue to maintain relevant supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile moving forward,” he said.

Cave said he enjoys government contracts law because it spans many different types of legal matters.

“One day you may be litigating a complex issue, the next day you may be closing a billion-dollar deal, and the next day you may be running an investigation and managing a disclosure to the government. The opportunity to counsel clients across a variety of legal exercises keeps me motivated and excited,” he said.

“Our procurement system also generates more innovation within the US than perhaps anywhere else in the world, which allows me to deal with cutting edge technology,” Cave added.

With all this going on, Cave turns to the soccer field to take a break. He played soccer through college, and has enjoyed coaching kids in the Washington, D.C. area for several years.

“Coaching has become one of the most satisfying parts of my life. By being around the kids, you get to see them bringing their best every day, you get to hear about what’s going on in their lives. And you get to disconnect for an hour, and focus on what’s in front of you,” he said.

Sports can “give you a glimpse of where you are, and where you are heading. And you can see progression over a season,” Cave said.

“Seeing their dedication pay off is the most rewarding thing,” he said.