Listing Summary

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES CITY ATTORNEY

The City of Dalton is accepting sealed written proposals to provide legal services as the “City Attorney” for the City of Dalton. Proposals may be submitted by an individual attorney, or by an attorney who represents a law firm. In any case, the attorney who would serve as the primary legal counsel to City must be named in this proposal.

Proposals must be submitted in a sealed package or envelope, and clearly marked on the outside with “City of Dalton City Attorney RFP ‐ 2023” and sent to:

City of Dalton

Andrew Parker, City Administrator c/o – City of Dalton Finance Office 300 W. Waugh Street                 P.O. Box 1205 Dalton, GA 30722

Proposals must be received no later than 10:00 a.m., Friday, December 1, 2023. Proposals received after this time will not be considered.

The City of reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to request additional information concerning any proposals for purposes of clarification, to accept or negotiate any modification to any proposal, and to waive any irregularities if such would serve the best interests of the City as determined by the City. All inquiries regarding the Request for Proposals should be directed to Andrew Parker, City Administrator, by email aparker@daltonga.gov.

Services to be Provided

The City Attorney is a professional, specialized position serving as general legal counsel in city‐ related matters for the Mayor and Council of the City of Dalton, City Department Heads, and designated boards, commissions, authorities or committees (herein after referred to as the City). The City Attorney provides legal guidance to the City on a variety of matters including all ministerial and discretionary functions. General Duties include, but are not limited to:

1. Act as general legal counsel on city‐related matters for the City

2. Respond, within a reasonable timeframe, to written and electronic correspondence and telephone inquiries from the City regarding current or proposed City operations and actions; respond, as requested, to written and electronic correspondence and telephone inquiries from outside agencies, citizens, and other parties, regarding current or proposed City operations and actions

3. Draft and/or review legal correspondence; ordinances and resolutions; contracts, leases, RFPs, bids; policies; and other documents on behalf of the City

4. Provide written responses or answers, where appropriate, to legal documents, civil actions, open records requests, and other similar requests

5. Attend meetings of the Mayor and Council and, as requested or directed, other boards, commissions, authorities and committees, and provide legal guidance to the City during those meetings, including executive sessions

6. Handle petitions or other business, as requested, on city‐related matters in the Dalton Municipal Court

7. Assist the City, if requested, on locating outside legal services for situations requiring specialized legal expertise

8. Support the City in staying in compliance with the City charter and State & Federal laws

9. Assist with any other legal matter as requested by Mayor and Council or City Administrator

Proposal Requirements

Submittals should include responses to each of the following items. Include other information as appropriate to address the services the City can expect from the attorney.

 

1. Brief profile and history of your qualifications, including your professional legal experience, especially in the area of local government/municipal law

2. Proposed hourly billing rates for the designated City Attorney.

a. Hourly rates for all associates that may perform work for which the City will be billed.

b. Hourly rates to be assessed for any and all non‐attorney personnel (i.e. paralegals, support staff, etc.) for work performed for the City of Dalton.

3. Proposed rates for standard title exams, recording fees, and copies.

4. Provide information indicating experience, demonstrated competence, and qualifications the proposer possesses which would enable him/her to serve as City Attorney

a. Provide the same experience and qualifications information for associates in the proposer’s firm who may assist the City Attorney on city‐related matters from time‐to‐time, as applicable

5. Provide at least three professional references regarding ability to serve as City Attorney

6. Provide the address of local office, along with names, email and phone contacts for the City Attorney and other office staff as applicable

7. Provide proof of Professional Liability Insurance Coverage (Lawyers’ Professional Liability Insurance) for errors and omissions of at least $1 million per occurrence. It is also preferable that the vendor selected maintain cybersecurity coverage for protection of City data in the case of a breach event.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria, each category weighted as shown.

1. Qualifications and experience of the attorney representing the City as City Attorney – 30 points

2. Qualifications and experience of attorneys within the firm who will assist the City Attorney in other areas of expertise or as backup to the City Attorney – 20 points

3. Offeror’s availability to prioritize client (City of Dalton) with existing work load/client list – 25 points

4. Hourly rates and fees in comparison to the market and other proposals – 25 points

Minimum Qualifications

1. Current member in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia, with no history of disciplinary actions, and is admitted to practice before the appellate courts of the State of Georgia

2. At least three years’ experience, consecutive to this request for proposal, as an attorney practicing within the general area of work associated with the duties described herein

General Information

This position is that of an independent contractor and the individual/firm will be responsible for all taxes owed for monies received for this service.

The City will enter into an agreement with the selected attorney/firm for legal services provided for a 1‐year term, subject to reappointment annually by the City Council.

The selected attorney/firm must successfully register as a City vendor prior to entering into an agreement

The term of this agreement shall be annual with a 30‐day notice of termination. The term will begin in January of 2024.

All written communications from the City Attorney shall be in typed format either in email or through electronic documents (e.g. Microsoft Word, PDF, etc.)

The City Attorney shall provide a written quarterly progress report indicating current status and estimated completion date of any ongoing legal tasks.

Interviews will be scheduled with prospective offerors in early to mid‐December 2023.