REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) VILLAGE OF LEMONT, ILLINOIS LEGAL SERVICES

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) VILLAGE OF LEMONT, ILLINOIS LEGAL SERVICES The, Illinois ( Village ) is soliciting qualifications from law firms to perform corporate legal services ( Services ) for the organization as needed and as described on the scope of services included in this request. All law firms submitting proposals should have considerable experience in municipal and governmental law. I. INTRODUCTION The Village is an Illinois non-home rule municipal corporation, located 25 miles southwest of Chicago in Cook, Will and DuPage Counties. The Village has experienced significant growth over the last decade, especially residential with an estimated population of approximately 16,895 in Lemont is known for its distinctive topography which includes waterways and rolling hills. Established in 1836, Lemont is a historic community with deep roots in the transportation industry with railway, canal and motor routes running through it. These means of transportation continue to bring vibrancy to the town as do the businesses located in the charming historic downtown and along major arterial streets. New housing and business development and redevelopment of existing properties are areas of concentration for the municipality. The town prides itself on a high quality of life with excellent schools and safe neighborhoods. The Village is governed by an elected President and six at-large Trustees who serve alternating four-year terms. The services provided by the Village include public works, public safety, community development and general administrative services. The day-today operations are managed by a Village Administrator along with department heads from the Police, Public Works, Community Development and Finance Departments. The Village s fiscal year runs from May 1 to April 30 with an annual operating budget of $10.5 million. Currently, there are 63 full-time employees and 35 part-time employees. The Village also owns, operates and maintains its own municipal water utility consisting of four deep wells and three storage facilities. Village owned or maintained property includes Village Hall, Police Station, Public Works Building, train station parking lot, two water towers, various well houses, right of ways, easements, and water and sewer lines. Additional information can be found at the Village s website: II. SCOPE OF SERVICES & EXPERTISE REQUESTED The is seeking qualified attorneys and law firms to provide legal services, in some or all of the following practice areas and/or required skillsets. While it may not disqualify a firm entirely, any of these areas which are outside the area of expertise of the responding firm should be noted up front.

2 Page 2 1. Expertise in all aspects of municipal law, including extensive knowledge of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5) and Article VII of the Constitution of the State of Illinois. 2. Expertise in all other Illinois statutes pertaining to municipal government. 3. Review and preparation of ordinances, resolutions, agreements, contracts, and other legal documents. 4. Research, legal advice, and opinions on specific legal matters to assist the Village staff and elected officials to make informed legal decisions pertaining to Village business. 5. Attendance at Village Board meetings and occasional other meetings by Village officials or staff. 6. Availability to provide legal counsel via phone, or in person as needed. 7. Defense of the Village in litigation either independently or in conjunction with the Village s insurance provider. 8. Condemnation and eminent domain. 9. Planning and zoning. 10. Civil rights. 11. Business regulation and licensing. 12. Taxation. 13. Non-home rule authority., 14. Ethics and conflicts of interest. 15. Employment law. 16. Economic development. 17. Municipal debt financing. 18. Real estate. 19. Municipal property acquisitions and sales. 20. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act. Please note that the Village is a member of the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency (IRMA) and does not require general liability, property damage, or workers compensation services. However, the selected firm is expected to coordinate services with attorneys and adjusters with the risk pool when needed. III. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION A. Firms wishing to submit qualifications should do so by no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 28, 2018 to: 418 Main Street Lemont, IL Attention: Legal Firm RFQ Response Kay Argo, HR Manager for the Village, is coordinating the RFQ process. All questions must be submitted in writing via to kargo@lemont.il.us no less than five (5) business days prior to the scheduled due date of the response. The Village will attempt to answer any question but does not guarantee it. 2

3 Page 3 B. Seven (7) hard copies of qualifications are required to be submitted including an electronic version to kargo@lemont.il.us C. The selection of the firm will be based upon the responses received. Fee structure will be considered but will not be the sole factor in selection. D. Proposals should include the following information: 1. Profile A profile of the firm, demonstrating the firm s expertise and qualifications in the areas of municipal or governmental law. The responder should describe the firm s legal experience in all areas of municipal law in which the firm has experience. Only attorneys currently licensed to practice law in Illinois and who maintain an office in Illinois, or law firms including such attorneys, should respond to this Request. 2. Staffing Identify the staff, including partners, associates, paralegals or any other paraprofessional staff, that will be assigned to the account and provide their qualifications and experience. If paralegals or other para-professionals will be assigned to the account, please provide a description of the scope of work they will perform. 3. Compensation Structure and Hourly Rate A. Retainer Option The Village contracts out all of its legal services currently. For corporate and litigation legal services the compensation structure includes a monthly retainer, legal costs outside the retainer, plus reimbursable expenses. The Village now seeks proposals from firms for an all-inclusive retainer, including but not limited to the following projects/matters: attendance at Village Board Meetings (generally 3 per month) and staff meetings (generally 2 per month), telephone calls with executive staff and/or Mayor, drafting ordinances and resolutions, contract drafting and contract review for vendors or services provided by third parties, legal opinions/advice and memoranda for general corporate matters, routine zoning matters, legal advice related to personnel and human resources, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) compliance assistance, drafting intergovernmental agreements and building violation litigation/coordination. The Village seeks a proposal that will provide an option for a monthly flat-fee amount for the foregoing examples. This may include additional routine matters. Any major litigation may be billed at an hourly rate, provided a thorough budget is provided to the Village Administrator in advance of commencement of any such major litigation. Hourly rates for major litigation must be provided in the response hereto, along with a sample budget. While it should be at a minimum other than major litigation, please state clearly 3

4 Page 4 legal matters in which would not be included in your all-inclusive retainer quote. B. Hourly Rate Option As an alternative to a flat fee, the Village will accept an hourly rate proposal for all matters for consideration. This alternative response shall include a sample budget that would be provided on all projects. The firm must demonstrate (narrative and in a sample budget) how it will maintain the Village s legal budget for the current Fiscal Year. Billings shall be in increments of.10 hours. The Proposal shall include rates for associates and partners, along with rates, if any, for paralegals or other paraprofessionals. The response should also include a fee proposal to complete a full review of all outstanding litigation. While the Village expects to continue with its existing law firm to conclude active litigation, the Village expects the appointed law firm to be brought up to date to conduct a full review of the Village s outstanding litigation so that it can coordinate with the firm handling litigation early on in the engagement. The Village reserves the right to cap the time spent and total amount billed for the review of existing litigation. The Village reserves the right to negotiate with the responder on the structure of the billing and/or retainer fee and will require a formal fee agreement to be signed once a firm is selected. 4. Scope of Services to be Provided The proposing firm should communicate which scope of services the firms is proposing for the engagement. For example, if the firm is only interested in providing certain specialties of legal services to the Village, it should be clearly stated in the proposal. 5. Fees The Village expects fees and chargebacks to be at a minimum. Provide a description of the fees and expenses that are normally charged back to your clients and the rate at which they are charged. 6. References Provide a list of current clients, including governmental entities, and the length and type of service for each client. Additionally, provide the contact information of five (5) municipal references. Please identify municipalities or other public agencies (park, school, library, etc.) that are within or immediately adjacent to the in which the firm represents. 4

5 Page 5 7. Conflicts Please disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to current or previous clients, or any other conflicts. By submitting a proposal, all firms acknowledge and accept that if the village discovers undisclosed potential or actual conflict of interest, the Village may disqualify the firm and/or refer the matter to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution. 8. Overall Approach Provide a narrative of the approach the legal firm intends to implement to effectively service the s account and its officials. In describing the overall approach, please clearly state and give examples on the firm s approach to routine legal matters, special projects and litigation. In particular, please state how the firm proposes to bring legal costs down for the organization in both the short, medium and long-term for both corporation services and litigation. Please give approaches and examples that the firm has been successful with other municipal clients on reducing legal costs for the organization such as the following: - The utilization of the Village Administrator and Management team to control legal costs. - Preventative measures including training for staff and elected officials. - The provision of a litigation budget at the onset of all litigation with periodic updates provided to the Village Administrator and/or Village Board. - The provision of a budget at the onset of all major legal projects with periodic updates provided to the Village Administrator and/or Village Board. - Examples showing the strategies utilized for the firm to stay within budget for projects or litigation and the mechanism put in place to not exceed those budgets. IV. EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSER It is the Village s intention to evaluate the following criteria of each proposing firm. A. Experience Submittals will be evaluated based on the level of experience of the firm and individual attorneys in the areas of law described herein and quality of services provided to other clients. 5

6 Page 6 B. Cost of Services Submittals will be evaluated based upon competitive retainer proposal, hourly rates and costs of fees and expenses. C. References Proposals will be evaluated on the reference responses from municipal clients. Additionally, the proposals will be evaluated on the character, integrity, reputation, judgment, and efficiency of the proposer. D. Overall Approach Proposals will be evaluated on the overall approach being proposed to effectively service the Village s account. E. Personal Interview One or more of the finalists may be required to submit to a personal interview with appropriate staff and/or Village Board members. Interviews are expected to be conducted in October Right to Reject - The reserves the right to reject any and all responses, or parts thereof received in response to this RFQ; waive formalities, technical deficiencies and irregularities; or otherwise solicit new responses if some other manner of negotiation better serves its interests, and to award an agreement in a manner that best serves the interest of the Village. An agreement for the accepted response will be drafted based on the factors described in this RFQ. V. OTHER INFORMATION A. Soon after the application deadline, a small committee made up of Village senior staff and potentially elected officials will evaluate the proposals against the established criteria and recommend to the Village Administrator a consolidated group of law firms to interview for the engagement. The interviews are expected to take place during the month of October. B. Following the interviews, a final recommendation is expected to be submitted by the Village Administrator to the Mayor and Village Board by October 31, Per Village code, the appointment is made by the Mayor with consent of the Village Board. The successful firm shall be notified, in writing, by the Village Administrator or designee during the month of November. It is the intention of the Village to appoint the successful firm formally at a Village Board Meeting in November The newly selected firm is expected to assume responsibilities shortly after appointment. The proposed calendar is subject to change. 6

7 Page 7 C. The retention of the firm to provide legal representation to the Village is not exclusive. The Village reserves the right to assign similar work to other parties, if the Village so desires. The Village reserves the right to terminate the relationship at any time. D. In addition to the firm which provides the corporate legal services currently, the Village presently utilizes several other law firms to handle matters pertaining to labor and employment law, Board of Fire and Police Commission, Tax Increment Financing (TIF), economic development, Administrative Adjudication, and Village prosecutor services. These services and current law firm providing services are listed below. Unless specified, the law firm handling the particular specialty is expected to continue with the Village. As such, service in these areas need not be included in the all inclusive retainer listed in the previous section of this document. 1. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Kathy Field Orr & Associates 2. Bond Counsel Ice Miller 3. Labor Counsel Robbins Schwartz 4. Administrative Adjudication Sosin & Arnold 5. Village Prosecution Services - Carey Cosentino 6. Litigation Services Tressler, LLP (Corporate services and litigation is currently being handled by Tressler, LLP. Tressler, LLP is expected at a minimum to stay on to provide litigation services for ongoing litigation until the cases are no longer active. Services for future litigation are expected to be provided by the successful firm as part of this selection process.) 7. Police Pension Reimer & Dobrovolny E. The Village expects at a minimum to continue its relationship with its existing law firm to handle existing litigation until completion. The Village will invite its existing law firm to submit proposals and will be considered equally with other qualified law firms. VI. PROPOSAL PREPARATION Firms submitting qualifications shall be responsible for any and all costs and/or expenses associated with preparing their proposal. The RFQ response should include provisions for the following certificates of insurance coverage if awarded: A. Commercial General Liability insurance, $1,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence for bodily injury, property damage and $1,000,000 per occurrence for personal injury with a general aggregate of $2,000,000. B. Professional Liability insurance with limits of no less than $2,000,000 per wrongful act or occurrence with respect to negligent acts, errors and omissions in connection with the professional services to be provided under the contract. 7

8 Page 8 VII. EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS Legal consultation will be provided in an accurate, correct, honest, ethical, and professional manner, while considering the overall goals and objectives of the Village. In addition, the attorney/law firm is expected to proactively identify potential issues, and provide innovative solutions to avoid problems from occurring. The attorney/law firm shall provide timely responses and is expected to interpret the direction of the Village Board and Village Administrator, and build effective working relationships with staff and elected officials. Further, the attorney/law firm is expected to communicate with the Village Administrator and elected officials as appropriate to apprise them of changes in state and federal laws, new laws, applicable court decisions, and other judicial and administrative rulings that will impact the Village s operations and services. When feasible, the attorney/law firm shall be willing and able to provide a proposed budget at the onset of all major legal projects and litigation with periodic updates provided to the Village Administrator and/or Village Board on status of said budgets. Any expected deviation from the budget shall be communicated to the Village Administrator and/or Village Board when made aware of potential. 8