Law360, New York (August 27, 2014, 7:41 AM EDT) -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has created a "deadline" for government contractors considering a pre-award protest at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that fails to create the "bright-line" point-in-time so essential to a traditional deadline. The CAFC's deadline, although ambiguous, actually has a subtle silver lining for unsuccessful offerors. Bidders that understand the fine points of this ambiguous deadline can use it to their advantage and get a second bite at the apple: after losing a pre-award protest at the agency that issued the solicitation or at the Government Accountability Office, or both, they may be able to protest the same issue at the COFC after contract award....