RFP/Request for Qualifications For Legal Services
The City of Bristol is soliciting Proposals from qualified law firms or individuals to represent the City and provide general municipal and civil legal services. It is expected that this individual or firm will attend City Council workshops, regular meetings, and special meetings.
The City is requesting that proposals include a monthly retainer in addition to any additional fees to be charged and the basis of calculation for those fees. The successful applicant(s) shall possess sufficient resources to ensure that the demands for the City’s legal needs will be met on a timely basis. The proposal shall include a list of qualifications including those related to municipal law.
The relationship would be on a consulting or contractual basis as opposed to a staff position. For additional information about the proposal please contact Robin Hatcher, City Clerk at Bristol City Hall, 12444 NW Virginia G. Weaver St., Bristol, Florida 32321 or by phone at (850)643-2261 or by email at rmh.cityofbristol@fairpoint.net.
The deadline for submittal of Proposals is Monday, December 5, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Proposals shall be sealed and clearly marked “Proposal for Legal Services” and should be mailed to P.O. Box 207, Bristol, FL 32321 or delivered to Bristol City Hall at 12444 NW Virginia G. Weaver St., Bristol, FL 32321. The City is not responsible for lost or delayed mail.
The City reserves the right to reject all proposals, to request additional information concerning any proposal, to accept or negotiate modifications to any proposal, to interview any proposer, and to waive any irregularities in any proposal following the proposal submission deadline date, in order to serve the best interest of the city.
The City Council meets regularly on Monday following the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. ET. Occasional special meetings/workshops may be held, based on need, and at the request of the Chairman and City Council.
The attorney selected to provide legal services will serve at the pleasure of the City Council and may be removed at any time by a majority vote of the Council.
The city is insured by the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust for tort-type claims and for workers compensation claims, so defense services in insured cases would not be required except for monitoring of significant cases and assisting the lead defense counsel in the assembly of city records.
The City is unable to provide office space and staffing, although limited equipment, supplies, and copying services may be negotiated.
Proposals may be mailed to:
Robin M. Hatcher, City Clerk
Attn: Proposal for Legal Services
City of Bristol
P.O. Box 207
Bristol, FL 32321
or delivered to:
Robin M. Hatcher, City Clerk
Attn: Proposal for Legal Services
City of Bristol
12444 NW Virginia G. Weaver St.
Bristol, FL 32321
All inquiries about this Request for Proposals and current legal services received by the city, including inquiries about past and current litigation, should be directed by email to Robin M. Hatcher, City Clerk at rmh.cityofbristol@fairpoint.net.
Requested Information.
Proposals should include the following information. Proposers may submit additional information as deemed appropriate.
1. For individual proposers, employment history since 2005, and for firm proposers, legal status
of firm or predecessor forms of organization since 2005, including specialization of individual,
firm, or predecessor organization.
2. Qualifications for providing general legal services, for each attorney likely to provide services,
including:
A. Law school (including year of graduation), year of admission to Florida State Bar, and
years of practice.
B. Years of municipal or other public sector law practice as a full-time government
attorney or specializing in municipal or other public sector law practice in a law
firm or as a sole practitioner.
C. Particular areas of knowledge and experience in Florida government law, including
but not limited to law related to cities. Examples of areas may include but are not
necessarily limited to law related to:
1. Land use;
2. Personnel matters and labor negotiations;
3. Franchises and franchise fees;
4. Taxes, fees, and charges such as water and sewer service charges;
5. Annexation;
6. Public purchasing and contracting;
7. Municipal court prosecutions;
8. Planning, construction, and operation of public facilities such as street, water,
sanitary sewer, and storm drainage facilities;
9. Open meetings and public records;
10. Government ethics; and
11. Elections.
D. Litigation experience, including descriptions of representative cases and outcomes.
E. Drafting experience, such as drafting of contracts, memoranda, ordinances, and
resolutions.
F. Experience giving oral advice such as during the course of City Council meetings and
by telephone to city staff.
G. Other types of clients represented.
H. Affiliations or clients that could cause conflicts of interest regarding likely City
Attorney matters.
3. How you propose to provide general legal services to the city. This should address issues such as
office location; accessibility to City Council members and city staff, attendance at City Council, and
occasional other meetings; services expected from the City; and if a firm, how you propose to
manage the firm’s provision of services to the city – for example, would there be a lead attorney and,
if so, who would that attorney be and how would other attorneys be involved.
- Proposed compensation for general legal services. As an independent contractor, this should include
any proposal for expense reimbursements beyond payments for time. For a firm’s proposal, if the
proposed compensation will vary depending on which attorney does work, this should include the
proposed method of charging for each attorney who will be performing work.
5. List any work that would not be covered by your compensation proposal.