USDA, Rural Development, 4440 NW 25th Place, PO Box 147010, Gainesville, Florida 32614-7010

R -- LEGAL SERVICES FOR FORECLOSURES AND DEFENSE OF BANKRUPTCY Sol RFP 09-00-6-056P. Due 072696. Contact Betty C. McMurtry, 352-338-3426, Administrative Contracting Officer. USDA, Rural Development requires contractors to provide legal services for uncontested and contested foreclosures and bankruptcy proceedings for 502 single family properties located in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Services Are to be provided for the areas of Lofza, Humaco, Caguas, Bayanon, and Guayama and within each of the five areas, the municipalities incorporated therein. To be eligible, the contractor must be licensed to practice law before the Superior Courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The solicitation is a total small business set-aside. The solicitation is advertised under FAR Part 14, Two Step Sealed Bidding Procedures, with the requirement for Technical Proposals to be submitted by an offeror. Proposals will be evaluated to establish technically acceptable offerors who will be invited to submit sealed bid. The contract award will cover a base year and two option years subject to availability of funding after 9/30/96. Level of effort is estimated based upon servicing records; it is as an estimated 200 to 250 5 cases for base year and an estimated 175 to 200 cases each for option years one and two. The Government's estimated dollar value is $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. All responsible small business firms or individuals may submit a technical proposals. Proposals must be submitted in English language, only. No telephone requests for solicitation packages will be accepted. Only written requests for solicitation packages will be accepted. Electronic transmission of proposals will not accepted. Notice is given in accordance with FAR 5.102, that 200 copies of the solicitation package will be available for distribution on a ``first-come-first-served'' basis. Evaluation factors and subfactors are described as follows and are listed in order of importance: I. Experience in handling foreclosure cases. Minimum experience is documentation of two years of practice since the passage of the 1979 ``Mortgage and Property Registry Act of Puerto Rico.'' II. Experience in practice of law in Federal Bankruptcy Court. Minimum experience is two years of practice with documentation of volume of petitions filed for Chapter 7 and for Chapter 13 bankruptcies within the past 12-month period. This experience may be documented for affiliates or joint-venture partners. III. Demonstrated management of cases as relates to due diligence in the filing and answering phases of the prosecution of a case to its completion; management of the tracking of status of each case and the accounting for reimbursable expenses; the timeliness of monthly reports to capture current stages for each case assigned. Minimum is system of calendar monitoring for deadlines for filings and answers; minimum is a structure of accounting to ensure the correct matching of incidental expenses; minimum is the historical tracking of a case from assignment to completion. IV. Understanding of the various impacts of action in filing foreclosure, recovery of possession and in defense of bankruptcy petition. Minimum is the construction of a hypothetical situation wherein a contractor attorney would seek advice of the Contracting Officer's Representative for instructions were actions to be taken in the natural progression of the legal system, but where public relations and societal needs could alter the actual progression. V. From the perspective of understanding how the payment process in the awarded contract will operate versus the traditional retainer system in private law practice, documentation of understanding of how this could impact an individual or a firm. Minimum is to contract a financial agreement with a private client with that of the United States of America using a situation wherein incidental expenditures were at the $1500 level and legal fees at the $1000 level but two (2) years had passed and the Registry had not recorded title. Contemplated closing date for receipt of technical proposal is 1:00 P.M., local time, July 26, 1996. See Note 1. (163)

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