SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Legal Temp Services
- Notice Date
- 4/4/2008
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541110
— Offices of Lawyers
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- CSB-00400-08-0009-SOL2
- Archive Date
- 4/5/2009
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total HUB-Zone
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written soliciation will not be issued. Solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-24. An offeror must be actively registered in CCR as a HUBZone at the time of award to accept an award. All questions and/or proposals must be emailed to the attention Alan Dotson at PSB1@BPD.TREAS.GOV. The deadline for receiving questions is 12:00 pm et on Monday, April 7, 2008. The deadline for receving proposals is 10:00 am et on Wednesday, April 9, 2008. Late proposals, or proposals that do not follow the specific instructions at 52.212-1 and 52.212-2 below, will not be accepted or evaluated. 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (FEB 2007) Addendum to 52.212-4 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services. (NOV 1999) 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract. (MAR 2000) 1052.201-70 Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) Designation and Authority. (MAR 2002) INVOICING PROCEDURE 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (FEB 2008) 52.219-27, Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside (May 2004) (15 U.S.C. 657 f). 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (June 2007) (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(2)). 52.222-3, Convict Labor (June 2003) (E.O. 11755). 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999). 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246). 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (Jun 1998) (29 U.S.C. 793). 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Aug 2007) (Applies to all contracts). 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Feb 2006) (E.o.s, proclamations, and statutes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury). 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003) (31 U.S.C. 3332). PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) LEGAL SUPPORT SERVICES BACKGROUND The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is an independent federal agency with the mission of investigating chemical accidents and hazards and recommending actions to protect workers, the public, and the environment. The CSB's scientific investigations bolster efforts by government, industry, labor, and communities to prevent chemical accidents. The agency was created by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and was first funded and commenced operations in 1998. The CSB's core mission activities include conducting accident investigations; formulating corrective or preventive recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the conclusions, findings, and recommendations arising from accident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards. The CSB Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice and counsel to the Board, including interpretation of the statutes, including the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which control CSB operations. OGC represents the CSB in judicial matters to which the CSB is a party or in which the CSB is interested; and also advises and represents the Board in administrative litigation matters. OGC prepares or concurs in all interagency agreements, delegations of authority, rules, regulations, notices, opinions, orders, and other legal documents and prepares legal interpretations thereof. OGC also advises all CSB offices on matters of legal significance arising from their operations. It provides legal review of procurement, personnel, and administrative actions and drafts documents for publication in the Federal Register. OGC handles requests and subpoenas for the testimony of CSB employees and the production of CSB records in litigation related to CSB investigations. OGC also processes requests under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act and helps implement other Federal laws, including the Ethics in Government Act and Government in the Sunshine Act. OBJECTIVE The objective of this acquisition is to obtain the services of a contractor that specializes in providing legal professional (attorneys) and para-professional (law clerks and paralegals) personnel on temporary basis. The CSB OGC requires such personnel, on an as-needed basis, to work on critical projects and/or emergency assignments in support of its functions, as described above. These projects/assignments will be of varying complexity and duration, lasting from a few days or a week up to a maximum of 240 workdays. SCOPE The contractor shall perform work in its own offices, at the CSB offices in downtown Washington, D.C., and as required to make short trips to off-site locations (e.g., law libraries) within Washington, D.C. and its immediate environs to perform tasks such as specialized legal research. The contractor will perform the tasks set forth below: ·Develop a procedure to receive and respond to requests from the CSB for temporary legal personnel for critical projects and emergency assignments. This procedure will include, at a minimum: oA designated point-of-contact to receive all requests for temporary legal personnel oA designated, consistent method of receiving and responding to requests (e.g.: facsimile, e-mail, etc.). ·Upon receipt of a request for temporary legal personnel from OGC, provide the resumes of the three personnel most qualified to perform the work called for by the request. The contractor will assess who is the most qualified by applying its expertise in staffing legal positions to match the proposed personnel training, skills, and experience with the work called for by the request and the qualifications requested by OGC. The contractor must have the capacity to supply personnel with the requisite training, skills, and experience to successfully perform the following kinds of tasks: oReviewing investigation files and applying statutory provisions and case law to identify and separate individual documents and records which may be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act from those documents and records which are not exempt from disclosure. oReviewing investigation files and applying statutory provisions and case law to identify and segregate individual documents and records which may be subject to the Privacy Act or Trade Secrets Act. oAssisting in the preparation of responses to discovery requests in administrative and/or civil litigation by gathering documents and records, separating non-responsive materials from responsive materials, and packaging them for production. oConducting research on issues of administrative law, federal procurement law, federal personnel law, and/or other areas of law (primarily federal); and summarizing and analyzing the results of such research in legal memoranda. oConducting research and gathering primary sources in various areas of federal law for assembly into background resource materials for use by OGC attorneys. oPerforming other tasks of a legal and/or substantive legal support nature, on projects/assignments arising out of the work of OGC, as described under "Background," above. ·After OGC has determined that the proposed personnel are acceptable, provide that individual to OGC. If none of the initially proposed personnel are determined acceptable, the contractor will provide additional resumes of proposed personnel to OGC until acceptable personnel are identified. Individual service requests under this contract may require varying mixes of personnel. Some requests may require only one person, while others may require more than one (e.g.: two attorneys or one attorney and one law clerk). It is also possible that multiple projects will be going on simultaneously, requiring separate groups of vendor-supplied personnel. The vendor should have sufficient flexibility and an adequate personnel pool to meet these varied staffing needs. If an OGC service request requires qualifications or experience not available in the contractor's current personnel pool, the contractor is responsible for supplementing its pool to satisfy the OGC request. The contractor must be able to supply at least four temporaries simultaneously. The use of personnel under this contract will not create an employer-employee relationship between the CSB and the contractor personnel. The contractor is at all times the legally responsible employer of any personnel assigned to the CSB OGC under this contract. The contractor - not the CSB - will recruit, test, hire, train, assign, pay, provide benefits and leave to, and as necessary, address performance problems, discipline, and terminate its employees. Personnel supplied to the CSB OGC under this contract will not be considered Federal employees for any purpose, will not be regarded as performing a personal service, and will not be eligible for civil service employee benefits, including retirement. The yearly labor mix estimates are best estimates based on historical data and usage. These labor mixes can potentially change dramatically based on future events. Please price accordingly. DELIVERABLES The contractor is responsible for providing the CSB OGC with temporary legal professional and para-professional personnel in the following categories on an as needed basis: ·Law Clerk - A law clerk is a currently enrolled student in an ABA-accredited law school who has completed at least the first year of a J.D. degree program. Based upon the typical nature of OGC projects and historical experience, law clerks will be the most frequently requested personnel category under this order. For the purposes of this order, OGC requires law clerks who can work full-time (30 - 40 hours/week) during the summer and part-time (10 - 20 hours/week) during the academic year. To meet this requirement, the contractor must be able to provide law clerks who attend law school in the Washington, DC, area. Estimated 900 hours per year ·Paralegal II - A paralegal in this category is an individual who provides substantive legal (as opposed to strictly clerical) support to attorneys. Based upon the typical nature of OGC projects and historical experience, paralegals are the category least likely to be requested under this order. For the purposes of this order, OGC requires individuals with at least one year of full time experience as a paralegal, and strongly prefers individuals who have completed at least a paralegal certificate program. Estimated 20 hours per year ·Attorney I - An attorney in this category is a graduate of a J.D. degree program at an ABA-accredited law school who is a member in good standing of the bar of any state or the District of Columbia, and who has 0 - 1 year of general work experience as an attorney. The attorney must be able to work either full-time (30 - 40 hours/week) or part-time (10 - 20 hours/week). Estimated 20 hours per year ·Attorney II - An attorney in this category is a graduate of a J.D. degree program at an ABA-accredited law school who is a member in good standing of the bar of any state or the District of Columbia, and who has 2 - 3 years of litigation experience as an attorney. The attorney must be able to work either full-time (30 - 40 hours/week) or part-time (10 - 20 hours/week). Estimated 20 hours per year ·Attorney III - An attorney in this category is a graduate of a J.D. degree program at an ABA-accredited law school who is a member in good standing of the bar of any state or the District of Columbia, and who has 3 - 5 years of work experience as an attorney in a specialized area of the law relevant to OGC's practice (e.g., Freedom of Information Act, federal procurement law, federal personnel law). The attorney must be able to work either full-time (30 - 40 hours/week) or part-time (10 - 20 hours/week). Estimated 20 hours per year TIMETABLE The contractor will send the resumes of the three most qualified personnel for a particular project/assignment to the CSB OGC Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) within 24 hours of receiving a request to do so. After being notified of which of the proposed personnel OGC deems acceptable, the vendor will direct those personnel to report to the CSB offices as follows: ·If notification received by contractor by noon on any business day - personnel must report at opening of business on the next business day. ·If notification received by contractor after noon on any business day - personnel must report at opening of business on the second business day. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE Base Period: Date of award through Month 12 Option Period 1: Month 13 through Month 24 Option Period 2: Month 25 through Month 36 It is anticipated that this contract will begin on or about May 1, 2008, although the actual date of award may vary. PROGRESS REPORTS The contractor shall provide the COTR with information on the performance of this contract on a bi-weekly basis during any period in which the vendor's personnel are performing work for the CSB OGC, and otherwise as requested by the COTR. The contractor is responsible for immediately notifying the COTR of any problems encountered or other matters that need CSB attention. The bi-weekly report shall include the following information: ·Performance data: For each contractor employee assigned to OGC during the reporting period, report the number of hours and the number of workdays the employee worked on OGC projects during the reporting period, and cumulatively. ·Financial Status: Report the following information: 1.For each employee assigned to OGC during the reporting period, the number of hours worked for the CSB during the reporting period multiplied by the hourly rate, yielding the total expenditure on that employee. 2.The total combined expenditure for all personnel assigned to OGC for the reporting period. 3.The cumulative combined expenditure for all personnel from the award of the order through the end of the reporting period. 4.Any other fees charged during the reporting period, total of other fees for the reporting period, and cumulative total of other fees from the award of the order through the end of the reporting period. ·Problems: Describe any problems faced during the reporting period, how they were solved, and the impact, if any, they will have on the contract. ·Required Assistance: Indicate any assistance being requested of the CSB in solving problems or otherwise providing some type of help or information. PAYMENT The contractor shall submit invoices monthly in arrears to the CSB via email. Payment will be authorized upon receipt of an invoice and upon the COTR's determination that the work covered by the invoice has been completed and received in accordance with all contract requirements. CONTRACT TYPE Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantitiy (IDIQ) with Firm Fixed Hourly Rates. CONTRACTING OFFICER AUTHORITY The Contracting Officer (CO) for this procurement is an employee of the Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD), the CSB's delegated procurement office. In no event shall any understanding or agreement between the contractor and any government employee other than the appointed CO on any contract modifications, change orders, letter, or verbal direction (other than direction within the scope of the COTR's authority) be effective or binding upon the government. All such actions must be formalized by the proper contract modification executed by the appointed CO. The contractor is hereby put on notice in the event a government employee other than the CO directs a change in the work to be performed or increases the scope of work to be performed, it is the contractor's responsibility to make inquiry of the CO before making the deviation. CONFIDENTIALITY Prior to beginning an assignment at the CSB OGC, contractor personnel must complete a confidentiality agreement with the CSB. QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP) 1.The COTR will summarize and document the Contractor's performance in the three categories listed below (evaluation based on meeting the requirements of this PWS and the contractor submitted Quality Assurance Plan): a.Quality of service b.Business relations c.Timeliness of performance 2.Surveillance method. Random Evaluation. This method employs a "spot check" style of evaluation and may be adjusted, based on quality trends. The Government retains the right to inspect all requirements of the contract. Unacceptable performance will be recorded and the Contractor shall be required to correct the unacceptable condition within a 24-hour time period. If the Contractor does not correct the unacceptable condition within 24-hours, the COTR will notify the Contracting Officer who will take appropriate administrative action for unacceptable performance. When an observation indicates defective performance, the COTR will require the Contractor to initial the observation. The initialing of the observation does not constitute concurrence with the observation; it only indicates acknowledgement that the Contractor has been made aware of a potentially defective performance. ADDITIONAL TERMS Performance under this order will be subject to the following additional terms, which are hereby incorporated into the order: 1.Public Release of Information Contractor shall submit any proposed public release of information pertaining to its work for the CSB to the General Counsel of the CSB for approval prior to release. Contractor shall release no such information without prior written approval from the CSB General Counsel. 2.Personnel Security Requirement Contractor, and Contractor personnel assigned to perform work for the CSB, shall execute a non-disclosure agreement as a condition for granting Contractor, and its personnel, access or potential access to confidential information. 3.Contractor Testimony Contractor shall immediately report to the General Counsel of the CSB any and all requests for the testimony of Contractor and/or its personnel, and any intention to testify as a witness relating to: (a) any work required by and/or performed for the CSB; (b) any information or data produced by Contractor in the course of its work for the CSB; or (c) any information provided by any individual or entity to assist Contractor in performing work for the CSB. All requests for testimony of Contractor and/or its personnel that fall within the scope of 40 C.F.R. part 1611 shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of that regulation. 4.Organizational Conflicts of Interest a.Contractor, its personnel, and any other person or entity performing work for Contractor on behalf of the CSB, shall execute a certification of non-conflict of interest. Such executed certification constitutes the signatory's acknowledgement that he/she has read and understands the requirements of this clause and agrees to abide by its terms. b.Contractor and its personnel performing work for the CSB under this order should not be placed in a conflicting role because of current or planned interests (whether financial, contractual, organizational, or otherwise), which relate to the work performed under this order, nor should Contractor obtain an unfair competitive advantage over other parties by virtue of its performance under this order. c.Contractor warrants that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which could give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or in the alternative, warrants that it has fully disclosed all such relevant information. Additionally, during the term of this order, Contractor agrees to forego entering into any other contractual arrangements with any firm or organization, the result of which may give rise to a conflict of interest with respect to the work being performed under this order. Contractor shall ensure that all agents, employees, and subcontractors retained for any purpose under this order abide by the provisions of this entire clause. If Contractor has reason to believe, with respect to itself or any of its agents, employees, or subcontractors, that any proposed contractual arrangement with any firm or organization may involve a potential conflict of interest, Contractor shall obtain the written approval of the Contracting Officer and the General Counsel of the CSB before the execution of such contractual arrangement. d.Contractor further agrees that if, after it commences work for the CSB, it discovers organizational conflicts of interest with respect to this order, it shall make an immediate and full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer and the General Counsel of the CSB. It is agreed that this disclosure will include a description of the action that Contractor has taken or proposes to take to avoid or mitigate the conflicts. Contractor shall continue performance until notified by the Contracting Officer of any contrary and/or supplemental action to be taken. e.It is the specific responsibility of Contractor to ensure that any and all subcontractors, and any subcontractors' employees, are free from conflicts of interest. Contractor warrants that no subcontractors already identified, or any of their subcontractors' employees, have an identifiable conflict of interest. It is further agreed that, in the event a conflict of interest is discovered after award of the subcontract, the same rules for disclosure, and all of the same remedies open to the CSB, described below, remain binding. Contractor further agrees to insert in each subcontract or agreement done in furtherance of this order, provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this entire clause. f.Contractor specifically agrees not to assign or otherwise place any of its employees who performed a temporary assignment for the CSB under this order to perform another assignment or otherwise work for an individual or entity that is the subject of an open CSB investigation that was open during the Contractor employee's assignment to the CSB, or that is an adverse party to the CSB in a pending matter that was pending during the Contractor employee's assignment to the CSB, for as long as such investigation is open or such matter is pending. Contractor further agrees not to assign or otherwise place any of its employees who performed a temporary assignment for the CSB under this order to perform another assignment or otherwise work for an individual or entity that represents an individual or entity of the kind described in the preceding sentence, for as long as such investigation is open or such matter is pending, unless the Contractor employee and the individual or entity performing the representation enter into, and submit to the CSB, an agreement screening the Contractor employee from participation in such investigation or matter. The preceding provisions do not supersede or supplant any greater restriction placed upon a Contractor employee by applicable rules of professional responsibility or conduct. g.For breach of any of the above restrictions, or for intentional nondisclosure or misrepresentation of any relevant conflicts of interest required to be disclosed concerning this order, or for such erroneous representations that necessarily imply bad faith, the CSB may terminate the order for default, disqualify Contractor from subsequent contracts, refer Contractor employees to appropriate professional disciplinary authorities, and/or pursue other remedies permitted by law or this order. Notwithstanding these remedies, however, the CSB may always terminate the order for convenience, in whole or in part, if termination is in the best interests of the government. 5.Proprietary Rights Contractor agrees that all property rights, including publication rights, in the information and materials produced by Contractor for the CSB shall vest in the government. Information and materials shall include, but not be limited to: final deliverables, progress reports, source data, plans, systems analyses, reports, extracts, test data, and procedures. Contractor shall not publish any of the results of its work for the CSB without the prior written approval of the General Counsel of the CSB. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS) A PRS table will be added to the award for each task listed in the PWS. Acceptable Quality Level - 95% Evaluation Method - Random Sampling. See QASP Incentive/Disincentive - Performance Rating 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items. (SEP 2006) You must submit each of the following as part of your proposal package. a)Pricing firm fixed hourly rates for each labor category possible for the base and each option year The following yearly usage estimates will be used to calculate your total proposal cost. Law Clerk: 900 hours per year Paralegal 2: 20 hours per year Attorney 1: 20 hours Attorney 2: 20 hours Attorney 3: 20 hours b)Non-Price Proposal (composed of the following elements and as described below in 52.212-2): must not exceed 11 pages or the proposal will not be accepted or evaluated 1.Offeror Experience (5 pages maximum) 2.Proposed Work Statement (5 pages maximum) 3.Past Performance (3 references, 1 page maximum) c)Representations and Certifications (or statement that they have been completed in ORCA) 52.212-2 Evaluation - Commercial Items. (JAN 1999) Award will be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined to be the best overall value to the government. The government will consider awarding at a slightly higher price only to receive superior technical quality. The Contracting Officer will use the technical merits of each proposal and the price to determine the successful offeror. As technical merit becomes more equal, price may be the deciding factor. As the price becomes more equal, technical merit may be the deciding factor. The non-price factors as listed below, when combined, are approximately equal to price. The technical evaluation team will determine the technical merits of each proposal and provide a written summary of the evaluation results to the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer will determine what trade-off between technical merit and price promises the greatest value to the government. The non-price proposal portion of the proposal must not exceed 11 pages in total or the proposal will not be accepted or evaluated. ·Vendor Experience: The proposal shall describe, in no more five (5) pages, the following areas of the prospective vendor's experience: oThe specialized experience of the offeror and its key personnel in creating and maintaining a pool of, and providing for assignment, legal professional (attorneys) and para-professional (law clerks and paralegals) temporary personnel in the Washington, DC, legal market. This area of the proposals will be evaluated based upon the extent to which they demonstrate such specialized experience; that is, proposals that demonstrate significant specialized experience in legal temporary staffing in the Washington, DC, legal market will receive higher scores than proposals that demonstrate limited or tangential experience in legal temporary staffing in the Washington, DC, legal market. oThe offeror's experience in providing temporary legal personnel to Federal agencies. This area of the proposals will be evaluated based upon the extent to which they demonstrate such experience; that is, proposals that demonstrate significant experience in providing temporary legal personnel to Federal agencies will receive higher scores than proposals that demonstrate limited or no experience in doing so. oThe offeror's specific record of ability to maintain a pool of well qualified law students available for temporary assignments as law clerks. This area of the proposals will be evaluated based upon the quality of the vendor's record of such ability; that is, proposals that demonstrate a consistent ability to maintain a pool of well qualified law students available for temporary assignments as law clerks will receive higher scores than proposals that demonstrate a limited or inconsistent ability in this regard. ·Proposed Work Statement: The proposal shall contain an explanation of no longer than five (5) pages of how the offeror proposes to accomplish the tasks set forth in the CSB PWS and PRS. Specifically, the explanation should address, and will be evaluated based upon, the depth and sources of the offeror's legal personnel pool - especially law students - and the offeror's ability to provide attorneys, law clerks, and paralegals who are well qualified to perform the kinds of legal assignments described in the CSB PWS and PRS. Proposed explanations that demonstrate a deep personnel pool from reliable sources, a steady supply of law students, and a convincing ability to provide attorneys, law clerks, and paralegals who are well qualified to perform the kinds of legal assignments described in the CSB PWS and PRS will receive higher scores than those that show a shallow and/or unreliable personnel pool, inconsistent supply of law students, and questionable ability to provide personnel well qualified to perform the work required by the CSB. ·Past Performance: The proposal shall provide three (3) references, preferably from Federal agencies, for other contracts to provide temporary legal personnel. A contact name, telephone number, e-mail address, project title, and date the services were performed must be provided for each reference. Reference responses will be evaluated based upon the timeliness (i.e., degree to which the offeror promptly responded toand fulfilled client service requests), quality (i.e., degree to which temporary personnel satisfactorily performed their assignments), responsiveness (i.e., degree to which offeror accommodated client requirements), and relevance (i.e., degree to which the offeror's prior work is similar to that described in the CSB PWS and PRS.
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