October 27, 2023

Request for Proposals - Legal Services

The Village of Perry invites the submittal of responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified Firm(s) interested in providing legal services as the Village Attorney. The Village intends to consider Firms and/or individuals who possess the professional and administrative capabilities to provide the scope of services detailed below.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Village is seeking the firm/individual to provide advice and counsel on the issues facing the Village and its various departments. In addition to providing legal representation for the Board of Trustees, Staff, and Boards and Committees, the Village Attorney shall perform the following functions:

1. Performs legal research, fieldwork, and other work and communicates the results to the appropriate Village representative.

2. Negotiates, reviews, and prepares contracts, agreements, and conveyances, such as service agreements, lease agreements, franchise agreements, easements, purchase contracts, and other legal documents on behalf of the Village.

3. Reviews, analyzes, drafts, and revises ordinances, policies, manuals, and other memoranda for the Village and its various departments to ensure they are coherent, enforceable, and consistent with State and Federal law; advises the Board of Trustees, the Village Administrator, and Village departments when revisions and changes need to be made.

4. Researches, interprets, and applies laws, court decisions, and other legal authority in the preparation of opinions and briefs; prepares formal legal opinions upon request of the Board of Trustees and the Village Administrator.

5. Drafts or supervises drafting of ordinances and resolutions for the Board of Trustees, explains the foregoing to the Board of Trustees, and answers questions related thereto.

6. Analyzes legislation including proposed State and Federal legislation affecting the Village.

7. Engages in litigation-related matters including drafting, discovery, court attendance, mediation, investigation, hearings and trials, and similar activities.

8. Prepares for and attends the Board of Trustees meetings, and other boards and committee meetings of the Village, as requested.

9. Supervises acquisition of real property interests for the Village to include title review, interdepartmental communications, negotiations, and litigation.

10. Serves as the Village Prosecutor in matters appearing before the Village Court.

11. Performs other such duties as may be required by virtue of this position as Village Attorney and as directed by the Board of Trustees or their designee.

12. Respondents may elect to submit qualifications for the full suite of Village Attorney Services, or for standalone prosecutorial services.

SELECTION PROCESS

From a review of the proposals received, the Village may invite several Firms to be interviewed before making a final selection. If the Village desires to interview a Firm, that Firm will receive notification of the date and time of the interview. The selected Firm will negotiate with the Village on fee and contract conditions. If in the sole opinion of the Village, an agreement cannot be achieved with the first respondent of choice, negotiations will proceed with the second or subsequent choice respondents until a mutually agreed contract can be negotiated.

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

Interested parties should submit the following items in packet form to the Village for consideration. Electronic submissions will be accepted, however we ask that you provide this information in a single PDF file:

1. Statement of Qualifications and resources of the firm/individual, including governmental experience to include description of areas of expertise or relevant experience that may benefit the Village.

2. Statement of Interest in providing service to the Village.

3. Indication of ability to provide timely and efficient service to the Village, including a specification of how many hours per week could be devoted solely to Village business.

4. Suggested contractual terms to include hourly rates.

5. A list, including contact information, for all current municipal clients, and a release authorizing the Village to discuss your performance with each.

6. Other factors or information thought to be important to the Village in considering the proposal.

7. A statement as to whether you are submitting a proposal for full Village Attorney services or for standalone prosecutorial services.

While the Village Attorney is expected to perform the primary legal service functions for the Village, the Village may hire specialized legal counsel to represent the Village in various matters considered outside the normal scope of work. In the event the Board of Trustees hires outside counsel, the Village Attorney is expected to represent the Village’s interest and coordinate the use of outside counsel to include keeping the Board of Trustees aware of the fees charged by outside counsel.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The criteria used to evaluate the RFP responses will include, but not be limited to, the following (items listed below are not listed in order of importance):

1. Qualifications of Firm, specifically as they relate to local government experience.

2. Available resources to complete required work.

3. Responsiveness to the RFP, including any additional documents submitted.

4. Professional references.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This RFP is not to be construed as a contract or as a commitment of any kind. If this RFP results in a contract offer by the Village, the specific scope of work, associated fees, and other contractual matters will be determined during contract negotiations.

No Obligation – The Village reserves the right to: (1) evaluate the responses submitted; (2) waive any irregularities therein; (3) select candidates for the submittal of more detailed or alternate proposals; (4) waive interviews of any kind before accepting a proposal: (5) accept any submittal or portion of submittal; (6) reject any or all Respondents submitting responses, should it be deemed in the Village’s best interest; or (7) cancel the entire process.

Proposals will be reviewed and forwarded to the Board of Trustees for further consideration. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to select the proposal that best meets the needs of the Village and to proceed in any fashion that it deems appropriate in making such selection so long as such process complies with all applicable laws.

Professional Liability Insurance – The Respondent shall have the appropriate liability insurance written by an insurer authorized to transact insurance in the State of New York.

SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS

The Village will receive responses to this RFP at the address set forth below until 5:00 p.m. on November 17, 2023.

Questions and clarifications to this RFP should be directed to Samantha Marcy at spierce@villageofperry.com in writing only, and must be received by November 10, 2023.

Proposals should be directed to: Samantha Marcy, Village Administrator, 46 North Main Street, Perry, NY 14530 or spierce@villageofperry.com.

Electronic submissions will be accepted and encouraged; however, such information must be provided in a single PDF file.

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