Annual Legal Counsel Services (Litigation, Workers' Compensation, Special Conflict)

The City of East Orange, New Jersey, is actively soliciting Qualification Statements (RFQ) from highly experienced and qualified individuals and firms to establish a pool of legal professionals for annual counsel services. This comprehensive procurement encompasses three critical areas: Litigation/Defense Counsel Services, Workers' Compensation Counsel Services, and Special Conflict Counsel Services. The scope for Litigation/Defense Counsel includes robust representation against diverse legal actions such as the Tort Claims Act (N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq.), Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA, N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 et seq.) claims, Laws Against Discrimination (LAD, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.) claims, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 actions, contract disputes, and challenges to government actions. Workers' Compensation Counsel requires extensive knowledge and substantial experience in N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 et seq. to defend the City in related lawsuits. Special Conflict Counsel will provide both litigation and workers' compensation services under specific circumstances, including conflicts of interest, non-availability of in-house counsel, scheduling conflicts, or when specialized outside expertise is deemed more effective for particular matters, with all services coordinated through the City’s Third Party Insurance Administrator. Prospective contractors must demonstrate exceptional professional, financial, and administrative capabilities to meet the City's stringent requirements. Key qualifications include a proven and extensive track record of litigation success in Federal court, New Jersey Superior court, Appellate courts, and Workers’ Compensation tribunals. Respondents are required to submit detailed resumes for all attorneys proposed to be assigned to City matters, along with a comprehensive description of their firm's overall experience in providing similar legal services. Furthermore, applicants must provide a list of relevant clients, specifically highlighting municipal government clients from the past three years. Mandatory compliance with New Jersey statutes such as N.J.S.A. 10:5-33 et seq. (Affirmative Action), N.J.S.A. 52:32-44 (Business Registration of Public Contractors), and N.J.S.A. 52:25-24.2 (Disclosure of Ownership) is strictly enforced. An essential requirement is Professional Liability Insurance with minimum coverage limits of $1,000,000 per claim and a $1,000,000 aggregate per policy period. There are no mandatory pre-bid meetings or site visits specified for this solicitation. All Qualification Statements must be meticulously prepared and received by the City of East Orange's Office of Procurement, addressed to Lisa L. Jackson, QPA, at 44 City Hall Plaza, East Orange, New Jersey 07018. The absolute deadline for submission is 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, December 12, 2019. Submissions must be exclusively delivered via mail or hand-delivery; facsimile or email transmissions will not be accepted. Each respondent is required to submit one original, four copies, and one compact disk (CD) set of their Qualification Statement, individually sealed. A non-refundable fee of $25.00 per RFQ packet applies if documents are picked up on-site to cover administrative and printing costs. Required documentation includes, but is not limited to, an Executive Summary, executed Letter of Qualification and Letter of Intent, Business Entity Disclosure Certification, Non-Collusion Affidavit, Disclosure of Ownership Form, Insurance Requirement Acknowledgement Form, EEO/Affirmative Action Compliance Notice, Mandatory Equal Employment Opportunity Notice Acknowledgement, Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 form, copies of Certificate of Employee Information Report and Business Registration Certificate, Professional Service Entity Information Form, Qualification Affidavit, Submission Form, Acknowledgement of Corrections, Additions or Deletions Form, Disclosure of Investment Activities in Iran, Statement of Indebtedness Form, and Agreement for Payment of Commodity/Service Form. Lisa L. Jackson, QPA, serving as the designated contact person, can be reached at (973) 266-5162 for inquiries; however, all formal communications must be in writing. No bid security or performance bonds are indicated as requirements for this RFQ.