Nichols Law

Government Affairs

Phil Beshara advises government contractors, defense technology companies, and emerging technology firms on high-stakes government affairs, regulatory, and legislative matters, working regularly with Capitol Hill, the White House, the Department of Defense, the State Department, and key national security agencies.  Mr. Beshara represents leading U.S. defense contractors in bid protest litigation across federal courts and tribunals, with over 12 years of experience, and has been "instrumental" in guiding clients through high-stakes Federal investigations and Congressional hearings.

Mr. Beshara has cultivated what has been described as a truly “Washington practice,” sought after for his political acumen and strong bipartisan relationships on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch by clients across the aerospace, defense technology, and FinTech industries.  In 2024, Chambers USA profiled Mr. Beshara for his successful Federal Government Relations practice, highlighting one client's praise for Beshara as “a fantastic part of the team, tailoring his advice for us as a client” to achieve legislative solutions on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Beshara's investigation work has included Congressional and Federal agency inquiries involving leading government contractors, as well as confidential internal-company investigations for global technology companies.  Mr. Beshara helped lead the preparation of a CEO of a leading transportation company through multiple rounds of televised Congressional hearings that were favorably received by legislators and staff.

Mr. Beshara also counsels allied-nation defense and technology companies on structuring their entry into the U.S. defense market — advising on entity formation, Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) mitigation, CMMC cybersecurity readiness, facility clearance planning, and compliance frameworks for accessing controlled and classified U.S. government programs.  This practice area has grown as Foreign Military Sales activity accelerates and allied-nation companies seek to participate in the U.S. defense industrial base.

In 2022, Law360 named Mr. Beshara as one of only five "Rising Star" attorneys nationwide in government contracts, showcasing how Mr. Beshara “successfully delivered oral arguments in [Federal] court” on behalf of a global engineering company in the successful defense of an $82 Billion contract award by the Department of Defense — with the favorable decision affirmed by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.  The publication also highlighted Mr. Beshara's work on successfully challenging a $650 Million NASA contract for the International Space Station and asteroid detection, resulting in a landmark decision based on novel procurement integrity arguments.  These and other successes achieved for government contractors in bid protests over the past decade have served as the bedrock of Mr. Beshara's litigation practice.

Mr. Beshara's recent work includes a successful protest at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims involving the Navy's award of a Foreign Military Sales contract for a maritime surveillance system — an area of growing significance as FMS activity accelerates across allied nations.  Mr. Beshara's government relations practice regularly involves strategic federal affairs engagements for defense technology and emerging technology companies — building relationships at the White House, within cabinet agencies, and with congressional leadership to position clients for long-term success across evolving defense, science, and policy priorities.

Prior to joining the firm, Phil practiced in the Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice at WilmerHale, where he was Counsel. Phil previously practiced at Blank Rome LLP (following the firm's consolidation with Dickstein Shapiro, where he began his career in 2014).  Mr. Beshara also served as a contributing author to the American Bar Association's definitive treatise, Bid Protests: A Guide to Challenging Federal Procurements — the leading reference on federal bid protest litigation.  Before and during law school, Phil worked for a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and at the State level.

English

Bar and Court Admissions ● District of Columbia Bar ● Commonwealth of Virginia Bar ● U.S. Supreme Court ● U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ● U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ● U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia ● U.S. Court of Federal Claims ● Supreme Court of Virginia ● District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Education ● Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2014, cum laude ● Ohio University, B.A., 2010, magna cum laude

A proud first-generation college graduate, Mr. Beshara serves on the Georgetown Law Alumni Board, through which he advises on the trajectory of Georgetown Law for the next generation, as well as the Board of Directors of Global Ties U.S.—which implements the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program, launched in 1940 to foster mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations.