City of Yelm
Request for Proposals
Prosecution and Litigation Services

Purpose
The City of Yelm (City) is soliciting proposals from qualified individuals or firms with expertise in providing some or all of the prosecution services described below. These contracted services are intended to begin November 1, 2015.

Scope of Services
The City has a contracted City Attorney, who is responsible for and manages the City’s legal affairs. The services that are the subject of this Request for Proposal fall into two categories, criminal prosecution in municipal court and short duration hearings. Proposers may be individuals, law firms, or public law offices. The City may choose to aggregate both categories of services into a single contract with an attorney, firm, or public office or may divide the work into separate contracts.

1. Criminal Prosecution
The attorney selected as prosecutor will be responsible for all aspects of prosecution in the City of Yelm Municipal Court, including:

Making filing decisions on criminal cases, with input from City police;
Advising City police on the conduct of investigations, trial preparation, seizures, and related matters;
Interviewing witnesses and victims of crimes;
Advising victims regarding their rights and responsibilities;
Representing the City at arraignments, pretrial hearings, bench and jury trials, and review hearings and appeals in connection with criminal misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases and certain contested infraction matters;
Making appropriate sentencing recommendations and decisions to the court;
Preparing and presenting legal memoranda, subpoenas, jury instructions, and other related materials;
Providing legal research, training, and assistance to City police in criminal matters, including statutory interpretation, enforcement issues, and case decisions; and
Creating and maintaining appropriate files.

Currently, the Court is in session every other Thursday (2-3 calendars per month). Detailed information indicating the volume and nature of the City’s prosecutions can be found at www.courts.wa.gov (City of Yelm Municipal Court data is listed under Caseload Reports; Courts of Limited Jurisdiction; Municipal Courts).

2. Litigation of Short Duration Hearings
The City is a party to a variety of legal proceedings that involve administrative and judicial hearings of relatively short duration, typically less than one day. Such hearings include Municipal Court hearings on civil infractions. Particularly when opposing parties are represented by legal counsel at such hearings, the City generally chooses to also have legal representation.

The volume of these short duration matters is relatively low, amounting to one or two in a typical month.

Support Services
The City will consider alternative approaches to the office, technology, and staff needed to support the legal services to be provided. Proposals must clearly state the extent to which they are based on any office space, computer services, or support staff being provided by the City.

Term
The City is interested in establishing and maintaining a long-term, stable relationship with its prosecuting attorney and intends to enter into a multi-year arrangement, initially for a term of five (5) years. However, the City prefers that either party may terminate the Agreement at any time without any further obligation other than payment of fees and costs incurred by legal counsel through the termination date.

Submittal Content
Interested individuals or firms are requested to submit a proposal, qualifications and experience in the conduct of similar work as per the scope of services above, and the selection criteria noted below. As a minimum, the submission shall include:

A. Compensation – Proposal shall include: 1. The fees or fee structure (e.g., hourly rate, monthly retainer, per-case fee) to be charged for the proposed services 2. A list of additional expenses and their subsequent rate.

B. Relevant Experience: For the proposed prosecuting attorney and any assigned attorneys that would be providing services to the Court, details of experience in the practice of criminal law. Five (5) or more years of criminal law experience is preferred, including significant trial experience.

C. Potential Conflicts of Interest: Identification of any potential conflicts of interest the individual or firm may face if selected to represent the City of Yelm.

D. Expression of Interest and Availability: A written expression of interest and availability of the proposed lead attorney and assistant attorneys.

E. References: Company name, address, contact name and phone number of at least three (3) client references for whom the individual or firm has provided comparable prosecutorial services to during the last three years, and that the City may contact.

Please submit five (5) copies or an electronic copy in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If electronic copies are submitted, it is the individual attorney’s or law firm’s responsibility to verify the receipt of the submittal. Submittal must be received on or before the specified time and date below.

All submittals are due by 5:00 PM, August 24, 2015, addressed to: City of Yelm Mayor Ron Harding 105 Yelm Avenue West Yelm WA 98597 ronh@nullci.yelm.wa.us 360-458-8401

Preliminary Schedule Milestones:

Issuance of RFP July 28, 2015

Proposal / Qualifications packets due August 24, 2015

Interviews (if required) Week of September 14, 2015

Selection of Firm Week of September 21, 2015

City Council Action on Contract October 13, 2015

Execute Contract November 1, 2015

Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated by considering the attorney’s quality of experience, the strength of the approach described in the proposal, and the cost to the City. Finalists will be invited for interviews, after which a recommendation to the City Council.

Selection Process
The anticipated selection process is as follows:
1. A panel will review the proposals and qualifications submitted. (Panel: Court Administrator, Chief of Police and Mayor)
2. The panel may request additional information from one or all respondents.
3. Interviews may be scheduled with one or more respondents.
4. The selected individual or firm will be invited to enter into contract negotiations with the City. The final approval of the contract is made by the Yelm City Council.
5. Should the City and the selected individual or firm not reach a mutual agreement, the City will terminate negotiations and move to the next qualified individual or firm and proceed with negotiations.