BOARD MEETING DATE: October 1, 2004
AGENDA NO. 10

Establish List of Pre-qualified Legal Counsel to Represent the AQMD in General Liability Matters

SYNOPSIS:

On June 4, 2004, the Board approved issuance of an RFP to pre-qualify outside legal counsel having expertise in handling general liability matters, primarily automobile accidents. The evaluation of responding firms has been completed. This action is to establish a list of pre-qualified counsel to advise and represent the AQMD in general liability litigation.

COMMITTEE:

Administrative, September 10, 2004, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

1. Approve the firms (a) Albright, Yee & Schmidt, LLP, (b) Kohrs & Fiske, (c) Reyes & Wolfe, LLP, and (d) Veatch, Carlson, Grogan & Nelson as pre-qualified law firms having expertise in general liability litigation that District Counsel may need to represent the AQMD in possible future litigation and advice.
    
2. Authorize the Chairman (or Executive Officer for contracts up to $50,000) to execute contracts with each of the above firms as the need arises for a combined total for all four firms not to exceed $250,000 for a three-year period.

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

In December of 2001, the Board approved contracts for up to three years with five firms having expertise in handling general liability matters and authorized the Executive Officer to make expenditures over a three-year period of up to $250,000. The AQMD entered into three-year contracts that will conclude on December 31, 2004. At the June 4, 2004 Board meeting, the Board authorized issuing an RFP to hire liability counsel when the current contracts conclude. As with the earlier contracts, the Board authorized expenditures of $250,000 over a three-year period.

For future litigation, a rapid response is needed in such situations, and it is not possible to go through the RFP process as new cases arise. Establishing a pre-qualified list ensures that AQMD can respond to current claims and quickly select counsel for future representation as needed. The size of the pre-qualified list, consisting of four firms, was determined based on the current and project litigation case load.

Outreach

In accordance with AQMD’s Procurement Policy and Procedure, a public notice advertising the RFP/RFQ and inviting bids was published in the following publications:
 

1.	Antelope Valley Press	11.	La Opinion	21.	Rafu Shimpo
2.	Black Voice News	12.	La Prensa Hispana	22.	San Bernardino Sun
3.	Chinese Daily News	13.	La Voz Publications	23.	State of California Contracts
4.	Desert Sun	14.	Los Angeles Daily News		Register
5.	Eastern Group Publications	15.	Los Angeles Sentinel	24.	The Daily Breeze
6.	El Chicano	16.	Los Angeles Times	25.	The Excelsior
7.	El Informador	17.	Orange County Register	26.	The Signal
8.	Inland Empire Hispanic News	18.	Philippine News	27.	Wave Community Newspapers
9.	Inland Valley Daily Bulletin	19.	Precinct Reporter
10.	Korea Central Daily	20	Press Enterprise

Additionally, potential bidders were notified utilizing the Los Angeles County MTA Directory of Certified Firms, the Inland Area Opportunity Pages Ethnic/Women Business & Professional Directory; and AQMD’s own electronic listing of certified minority vendors. Notice of the RFP/RFQ was mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations, and placed on the Internet at AQMD’s Web site (http://www.aqmd.gov where it can be viewed by making menu selections "Inside AQMD"/"Employment and Business Opportunities"/"Business Opportunities" or by going directly to http://www.aqmd.gov/rfp/index.html). Information was also available on AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.

Bid Evaluation

Copies of the RFP were mailed to 139 law firms in California. Thirteen proposals were received by 5:00 p.m. on July 6, 2004, the deadline for submittal. Interviews of each of the firms were conducted on July 22-23, 2004. The panel rated proposals according to criteria described in the RFP and on their interview performance. Attachment A lists the firms in order of their final scores. Staff recommends the four firms with the highest scores be approved as pre-qualified to perform legal services. Selection of a law firm for particular legal matters will be based on the individual firm’s specific experience and expertise, as identified in its proposal, and on prior relevant experience, the needs of the particular project, and the firm’s availability.

The four-member evaluation panel consisted of three AQMD employees and one outside panelist (three attorneys and one risk manager; three men and one woman; one African-American, one Caucasian and two Hispanic).

Proposal

Establish a list for the AQMD, valid through December 31, 2007, of pre-qualified outside counsel having expertise in personal injury and general tort-liability litigation, with an emphasis in public entity defense, consisting of the four top-scoring firms: Albright, Yee & Schmidt, LLP; Kohrs & Fiske; Reyes & Wolfe, LLP; and Veatch, Carlson, Grogan & Nelson. The recommended firms include three small businesses, two minority-owned businesses, and one women-owned business. Per the RFP, points were alloted to firms that qualify as a small business.

Also, authorize the Executive Officer or Board Chairman, as appropriate, to execute contracts with one or more of these firms, in a combined amount of no more than $250,000 over three years.

Resource Impacts

The recommended total budget amount for liability counsel is $250,000 over a three-year period, all of which may be allocated to one or more selected contractors as the need arises based on current or future litigation, the availability of counsel, and the needs of the AQMD. With this action, sufficient funds for the first year are available in the FY 2004-05 Budget. Remaining funding for subsequent years will be dependent on future budgets.

Attachment

A. Evaluation of Proposals
 

ATTACHMENT A
EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS FOR RFP#P2004-23
 

* Average of evaluators' scores

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