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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-24 - Request for Qualifications and Proposals - City Attorney ServicesREQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES Due Friday, January 24, 2020 by 10:00 AM (Pacific Time) The City of Tukwila is requesting proposals from well qualified law firms and/or attorneys interested in providing contracted City Attorney services. The successful attorney/law firm ("Proposer") will contract with the City for provision of legal services as an independent contractor and shall not be entitled to City benefits. The Proposer will be responsible for performance of all of the obligations under the contract in conformance with the Rules of Professional Conduct and state and federal law. The contracted services are intended to begin April 1, 2020. Please review the full RFP following this notice All materials should be submitted in one paper packet by 10 AM (Pacific Time) on Friday, January 24, 2020. No submittals will be accepted after this date and time. The City will not be liable for delays in delivery of proposals due to handling by the US Postal Service or any other type of delivery service. Faxed or emailed submittals will not be accepted. Please reference the RFP title on all communications and mailing labels. "City Attorney Services." CherylThompson City of Tukwila Mayor's Office 6200 Southcenter Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 Questions regarding the proposal will be accepted by email ONLY to Cheryl Thompson, Mayor's Office Executive Assistant at Cheryl.Thompson@TukwilaWa.gov Published Seattle Times - December 18, 2019 and January 8, 2020 Published Daily Journal of Commerce - December 18, 2019 and January 8, 2020 Posted on the King County Bar Association Website on December 18, 2019 Emailed to.diversity(@wsba.org on December 18, 2019 CITY OF TUKWILA REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR CITY ATTORNEY SERVICES Due Friday, January 24, 2020 by 10:00 AM (Pacific Time) The City of Tukwila is requesting proposals from well qualified law firms and/or attorneys interested in providing contracted City Attorney services. The successful attorney/law firm ("Proposer") will contract with the City for provision of legal services as an independent contractor and shall not be entitled to City benefits. The Proposer will be responsible for performance of all of the obligations under the contract in conformance with the Rules of Professional Conduct and state and federal law. The contracted services are intended to begin April 1, 2020. The City of Tukwila is an optional code city with a residential population of approximately 20,200. At the crossroad of two interstate highways 1-5 and 1-405 - and within five minutes of an international airport, Tukwila is a regional leader in retail/commercial sales, warehousing, and distribution of goods and manufacturing which bring more than 150,000 visitors to the City each day. Tukwila is unique in that it is a small city on a residential population basis but with many of the same complex legal issues faced by large cities. The City of Tukwila is a majority minority city, where 40% of the residents were born outside of the United States and more than 50% speak a language other than English at home. Tukwila is proud of its history welcoming new Americans, whether they be immigrants or refugees, and celebrates the rich diversity of culture, language and traditions found in the city. Tukwila has 338 employees and operates under a mayor/council form of government. The City Council consists of seven members elected at -large. The Mayor is elected at -large and serves as the Chief Executive Officer. Tukwila has ten departments: Administrative Services, Community Development, Finance, Fire, Mayor's Office, Municipal Court, Parks & Recreation, Police Department, Public Works Department and Technology & Innovation Services all of which seek legal advice and counsel from the City Attorney. Public Defender services are provided by Kirshenbaum & Goss, P.S. and Prosecution Services are provided by the Walls Law Firm. The City's Public Works department provides water and sewer services to approximately 1850 households and/or businesses. The City has nine (9) union contracts. Tukwila is soliciting Requests for Qualifications and Proposals from a qualified individual or law firm to provide a full range of municipal legal services, serving as the City's legal counsel on a contractual basis. Proposals should identify the attorney who will serve as the lead attorney and primary contact person. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS A. Each attorney who would provide services must possess a Juris Doctorate degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. B. Each attorney who would provide services in the proposed team must be licensed to practice law in the State of Washington and be a member in good standing of the Washington State Bar Association. C. The proposed designated City Attorney must have a minimum of five (5) years full-time experience in the field of municipal law, with particular experience in public records, land use, public works construction and employment law. D. The selected attorney/law firm will be required to submit proof of professional liability insurance with limits not less than $3,000,000 to the City. SCOPE OF SERVICES The City requires a full array of Municipal City Attorney services, including but not limited to: A. Basic Legal Services 1. Attend regular City Council meetings generally held on the first (1st) and third (3rd) Mondays of each month, executive sessions scheduled for regular meetings and special City Council meetings on an "as -needed" basis, as requested by the City Mayor. 2. Prepare and review ordinances, resolutions, contracts, interlocal agreements, and other city documents or materials as requested. 3. Provide timely counsel and advice to the Mayor, City Council and city staff which may take place during onsite office hours or via telephone during normal business hours and at meetings. 4. Maintain a minimum of 24 office hours each week at City Hall. 5. Draft and negotiate labor contracts as well as assist with contract disputes. 6. Defend or initiate administrative hearings involving the City including, but not limited to, drug forfeiture and seizure hearings, code enforcement, and similar matters. 7. Provide training for staff, elected officials, Boards, and Commissions on issues including, but not limited to, ethics, conflict of interest, the appearance of fairness doctrine and harassment. 8. Familiarity with the City's Municipal Code, application of State and Federal laws, knowledge of the Washington Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act, land use law, contract law, employment law, eminent domain, immigration law and other laws applicable to municipalities 9. Advise staff on the review and redaction of records requested pursuant to public records requests and prepare exemption logs. 10. Coordinate with other associated special counsel, as needed. 11. Attend and actively participate in weekly departmental leadership meetings. 12. Advise the Mayor, City Council, and staff on matters of relevance as a result of new legislation or recent court decisions. 13. General paralegal and administrative support for the City Attorney. 14. Such other general city attorney matters as are assigned. B. Special Projects This category includes any unusually large projects, defined as projects that will require twenty (20) hours or more of attorney time to handle. Other specialized municipal law services include, but are not limited to, franchise negotiations as authorized by the City. C. Litigation Initiation and defense of litigation and contested administrative proceedings on the City's behalf. This category includes representation of the City either as plaintiff or defendant in litigation and representation of the City in administrative proceedings before the City or other governmental units or agencies. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS To reply to this RFP please submit the following: A. Cover letter and statement of qualifications that includes a list of attorneys anticipated to provide legal services to the City of Tukwila, named in rank order, years of municipal legal experience and areas of specialty within the field of municipal law. Include a statement identifying the lead attorney and primary point of contact for the City of Tukwila. B. A resume for each attorney that will be involved in providing City Attorney services. Resumes shall include law school attended, year of admission to the Washington State Bar Association, years of practice and area(s) of practice for those years, professional affiliations, special training. C. Number of years the individual or firm has been in business. D. Number of staff, by discipline, in the law office and copies of their resumes. E. Statement about how the law firm would propose to provide the required legal services. This should include an understanding of the City's service requirements, the firm's ongoing service commitment, responsiveness, office location, information on availability and back-up city attorney services if absent for illness or vacation, etc. F. Describe experience in negotiating contracts with unions and police guilds, human resource and employment law, and the employee grievance process. G. Discuss experience in working with a city on reducing liability/exposure. H. The City of Tukwila values diversity, equity and inclusion. Describe the steps taken to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion within the firm. I. A minimum of five (5) professional references with addresses, phone numbers, and contact name for each organization including current municipal clients that the firm has represented in the past five (5) years. J. Please provide a list of any clients currently represented by the firm or attorney that could cause a conflict of interest with responsibilities for the City of Tukwila. Describe how these or any future conflicts of interest would be resolved. K. If your firm has filed any litigation in the past five (5) years in which either the City of Tukwila or one of its employees was named as a defendant, please provide the case details and describe your involvement. L. If you have filed any litigation in the past five (5) years in which a municipality was a defendant, please provide the case details and describe your involvement. M. Disclosure of any pending litigation orjudgments rendered against the law firm or any attorney in the firm in any matter relating to professional activities of the firm, including any complaints with the Washington State Bar Association, or any bar association that the attorney has been licensed with. N. Any other documentation which the firm/individual deems necessary which will detail professional experience. COMPENSATION Proposals shall clearly set forth fees or fee structure to be charged for services to include the rates for all professionals: attorneys and paralegals. It is requested that the proposal include two compensation calculations: 1) For a minimum of 24 hours per week onsite in Tukwila; and 2) For 40 hours per week onsite in Tukwila. SELECTION PROCESS A. The selection committee will review all proposals and may invite the most qualified firms to an interview. The committee will use the following criteria to review and evaluate all submitted proposals and interviews: 1. Advanced knowledge of all municipal government legal issues. 2. Availability and billing rates of attorneys proposed to provide attorney services. 3. Advanced understanding of employment law, Washington State land use law and public disclosure. 4. Proposed fee structure. 5. Qualifications of key staff that will be assigned to the City. 6. Reference results. B. Finalists will be invited to present to the City Council. C. Upon selection, the fee and contract will be negotiated by the Mayor and presented to City Council for approval. 1. The contract maybe awarded for an initial period that correlates with the City's budget cycle and may then be renewed on a two-year basis. The City reserves the right to modify the selection criteria. TERMS AND CONDITIONS Not all proposers may be interviewed. The proposer shall be responsible for the accuracy of the information supplied. The City of Tukwila reserves the right to request additional information concerning any proposal, to reject any and all proposals, to issue one or more agreement(s) for the intended scope of services, to waive minor irregularities, and to issue additional RFPs prior to the award of a contract. The City reserves the right to negotiate elements which comprise the apparent successful proposal to ensure that the best possible consideration is afforded to all concerned. The contract resulting from acceptance of a proposal by the City shall be in a form approved by the City and shall go before the City Council for approval. The City is not responsible for any costs incurred by the firm in preparing, submitting or presenting a response to this RFP. INSTRUCTIONS TO REPLY TO THIS REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSALS Interested parties should submit one (1) electronic copy, one (1) original and twelve (12) copies of the proposal in a sealed envelope and identified as City Attorney Services. The deadline for submission of proposals is January 24, 2020 at 10:00 AM. All materials shall be submitted in one packet and provided to: CherylThompson City of Tukwila Mayor's Office 6200 Southcenter Blvd. Tukwila, WA 98188 ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 10:00 AM ON JANUARY 24, 2020