COUNTY OF ORANGE OFFICE OF COUNTY COUNSEL

Transcription

1 COUNTY OF ORANGE OFFICE OF COUNTY COUNSEL REQUEST FOR STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS OF SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING SERVICES The County Counsel s office of the County of Orange ( County Counsel ) is seeking Statements of Qualifications ( SOQ ) from law firms to provide legal services to the Board of Supervisors for the County of Orange ( County ), and the Board of Supervisors for the County of Orange in their capacity as governing board of the Orange County Development Agency ( OCDA ) and the Orange County Housing Authority ( OCHA ). (County Counsel, County, OCDA and OCI-IA will sometimes be referred to herein collectively as County ). It should be addressed to: The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) must be received by 5:00 p.m. on January 30, Daniel Shephard Deputy County Counsel County of Orange 333 W. Santa Ma Blvd., Ste. 407 P.O. Box 1379 Santa Ana, California Details of the manner of submission, number of copies to be submitted, etc., are explained in sections IV and VII of this Request for SOQ. Preparation and submission of an SOQ by interested firms will be at no cost or obligation to the County. County reserves the right to, at any time, abandon or terminate its efforts to contract for said services without obligation to any firm which responds to this Request for SOQ. The SOQs and other materials submitted will become property of the County and will not be returned. Questions and requests for clarification/interpretations related to this SOQ must be submitted in writing by 5:00 p.m. on January 20 to the attention of Daniel Shephard at the address listed above, or at Dan.Shephard(,coco.ocgov.com. Page 1 of 12

2 The County, OCHA, and OCDA shall not be responsible for any clarifications or interpretations from any source in regard to this RFQ that is not provided in writing by Daniel Shephard, Supervising Deputy County Counsel. INTRODUCTION The County engages in various redevelopment and housing activities, pursuant to, among other things, the Community Redevelopment Law Act (California Health and Safety Code Sections 33000, et. seq.) ( CRL ) within the County of Orange, through the County as well as the OCDA and the OCHA. In 1982, the Orange County Board of Supervisors established the OCDA. The authority granted allowed the County, through the OCDA, to initiate redevelopment projects and programs in unincorporated areas. The Board of Supervisors adopted the County s first redevelopment plan and project area in 1986, known as the Santa Ana Heights Redevelopment Project. The Project Area encompasses the John Wayne Airport, the Santa Ana Heights ( SAH ) community, and the Upper Newport Bay Regional Park. In addition to redevelopment goals such as housing rehabilitation, business attraction, and infrastructure improvements, the Project seeks to implement existing land use policies. Policy implementation would allow the orderly and balanced development of the SAH community via the Airport Master Plan, Land Use Compatibility Program, and the Santa Ana Heights Specific Plan. The County s second redevelopment project area, the Neighborhood Development and Preservation Project ( NDAPP ), was adopted in Originally, NDAPP encompassed over 7,400 acres and was divided into 14 noncontiguous sub-areas; however, due to annexations only 11 sub-areas exist today. Redevelopment objectives for NDAPP include the prevention of physical, social, and economic decline. One of the primary goals of the OCDA is to promote and produce quality affordable housing opportunities in compliance with the CRL as demonstrated in its Five-Year Implementation Plan (FY 2004 to 2009) that aims to improve housing and assist low- and moderate-income persons and families to obtain homeownership. Additionally, the OCDA undertakes a variety of programs and projects to alleviate physical and economic blight conditions within its project areas. These involve a range of community facilities and infrastructure upgrades and partnering with private sector actors to accomplish redevelopment of these areas that is consistent with adopted plans. Page 2 of 12

3 The County has also needed and will likely continue to require specialized legal services in dealing with redevelopment and housing regulations applicable to the creation of housing opportunities within the County by the OCDA, as well as the OCHA, if needed. The OCHA administers various rental assistance programs throughout Orange County and helps approximately 10,000 income-qualified households to receive rental assistance in a variety of apartments, houses, and other rental dwellings owned by private landlords; households pay their monthly rent through its rental assistance programs. At times OCFIA programs may also involve the CRL. The County philosophy is to be proactive when dealing with redevelopment and housing issues and is looking for legal services to assist in developing strategies to assure that the County is able to effectively achieve the goals of the OCDA and create opportunities for housing throughout the County. County Counsel is seeking qualified outside counsel to provide redevelopment and housing law related advisory and litigation services to the County in connection with the operation of the County, the OCDA and the OCHA, if needed. Qualified firms should be experienced in all aspects of federal, California and local laws, regulation and enforcement in these areas, including but not limited to, the CRL, HOME regulations, Community Development Block Grants, annual reporting requirements, and redevelopment plans. (collectively referred to hereinafter as County Redevelopment Activities ). County Counsel is seeking SOQs from qualified and responsible law firm(s) to enter into a Legal Services Agreement to perform the County Redevelopment Activities. This Request for SOQ may result in the retention by the County of one or more law firms to provide legal services. The County may also choose to select alternates for the County Redevelopment Activities in the case of conflict on certain matters. II. PURPOSE The intent of this request for Statement of Qualifications is to enable County Counsel to develop a ranked list of approximately four (4) law firms that can enter into contract(s) for legal services with the County which may be needed in connection with the County Redevelopment Activities. Page 3 of 12

4 III. DESCRIPTION OF LEGAL SERVICES REQUIRED The firm(s) selected will be required to provide the personnel and all necessary support and equipment, including computer hardware and software that is sufficient and adequate to perform the services described herein. The firm will need to prepare written interim and final reports, updates, and summaries for each phase of work as requested by the assigned Deputy County Counsel. The required services will include, but are not limited to, any or all of the following services as directed by the assigned Deputy County Counsel andlor requested by County and OCDA staff: A. Perform all normal and customary duties required of special redevelopment counsel in connection with issues related to or arising from the County Redevelopment Activities. B. Advise County staff as to procedures, legality of documents, policy concerns, and legal implications concerning the County Redevelopment Activities. C. Advise County regarding the requirements of redevelopment, housing and other state and federal laws relevant to the County Redevelopment Activities. D. Assist County in review, negotiation, drafting and implementation of redevelopment documentation, correspondence, resolutions, agreements, and related documents. E. Attend meetings of the Board of Supervisors, and relevant Staff or negotiation meetings. F. Prepare resolutions, notices, pleadings, and other legal documents necessary for the County Redevelopment Activities. G. Provide representation in hearings, arbitration, mediation, and any related litigation, as necessary, arising out of the County Redevelopment Activities. IV. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS (SOQ) SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS Firms qualified and interested in performing the tasks generally described above, are asked to submit the following information formatted into sections A-G as requested below. Failure to follow the required format may result in disqualification. The SOQ Page 4 of 12

5 each firm submits is limited to 10 pages (excluding attachments). Resumes, copies of licenses/certifications, lists of clients, etc. may be appended to the SOQ and will not be included in the page limit. A. Submission of SOQs One (1) original and six (6) copies of the SOQ should be submitted in one envelope. B. General Information A General Information Sheet (Attachment A) should be completed. The sheet must list a lead attorney who has primary responsibility for the work. Agreement terms will not permit substitution of lead attorneys without prior written approval of the County. C. Qualifications of Personnel Please provide a description of the qualifications of all professional personnel to perform work under a Legal Services Agreement with the County, a resume for each professional, and a statement indicating to what extent or percent each will be assigned in performing the Scope of Services and indicating that person s specialized expertise. D. Certification of Personnel A principal partner or officer of the firm will need to verify and certify the resumes, including the academic record, experience, and professional license of the lead lawyers and professional personnel identified in Items TV-B and IV-C above. E. Experience List significant redevelopment and housing related advisory and litigation experience, as applicable, of the professionals listed as available to perform work for the Project(s) and those who will be directly responsible for their work product. For each litigation matter listed, provide a brief summary of the issues, names of attorneys and firms involved on both sides of the litigation, and the Page 5 of 12

6 outcome of the cases. Also list all matters involving redevelopment law or housing matters for which the firm was retained in the past ten (10) years, listing all parties involved, the project involved, and the outcome. F. General Firm Description Provide a short description of your firm s organization with attached organization chart identifying those listed in section B above. Provide also, a short description of your firm s overall approach to the handling of redevelopment law or housing matters, including specific techniques that will be used, expert valuation witnesses employed, and specific administrative and operational management expertise that will be employed. G. Conflict of Interest Please disclose any financial, business, professional, or other relationship the firm has with any person or entity that is in a position adverse to the OCDA, OCHA and/or County. Please describe your firm s system for identifying possible conflicts of interest. The firm will be expected to have a system to identify possible conflict of interests and to notify County Counsel of these conflicts at the earliest possible opportunity so as to avoid any possible prejudice to the OCDA, OCHA and/or County. The firm will be expected to comply with the Conflict of Interest Policy for Outside Counsel adopted by the Board of Supervisors (Attachment C), in addition to obligations imposed on attorneys under the Rules of Professional Conduct and under law. H. Professional Liability Insurance Please provide proof of professional liability insurance. Rate Schedule Please provide the rate schedule for any attorneys or legal staff anticipated to provide legal services to the OCDA, OCHA and/or County in conjunction with the County Redevelopment Activities. Page 6 of 12

7 V. EVALUATION PROCESS Evaluation of the Statements of Qualifications by the review panel may be based upon, among other things: A. The qualifications, experience and education of lead attorneys and other professional personnel. B. General experience in redevelopment law, including affordable housing, and state and federal housing issues. C. Experience in redevelopment or housing issues in Orange County. If you have no such specific experience, list experience you feel is comparable and why you feel it is comparable. D. The number and types of relevant projects and cases. E. Experience with local, state and federal agencies with jurisdiction over housing matters. F. Proposed staffing for the project and commitment to having key professional staff available. G. Evaluation of conflicts of interest. VI. SELECTION PROCESS Selection of the law firms will be a four-step process: Step One: Screening of the SOQs by a review panel: All SOQs meeting the submittal requirements will be evaluated by a review committee. A. The names of the review committee members will not be revealed prior to the interviews. Individual or composite ratings by the review committee members will not be revealed. B. Members of the review committee will review the responses to determine those firms to be invited for an oral presentation and interview. Step Two: A list of finalists will be developed and finalists will be notified when their presentation and interview are scheduled. Finalists will be interviewed by a selection panel. Principal team members should participate in the interview. The proposed Lead Attorney/Project Manager should lead the presentation. Step Three: The selection panel shall select firms that best meet the County requirements. County Counsel will create a list of ranked slate of recommended firms based on evaluation and scoring of the SOQs content, the interviews, and references. Page 7 of 12

8 Step Four: Submittal of ranked firm(s) to the Orange County Board of Supervisors with a request for the Board to select one or more law firms to represent the County. VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS A. Confidentiality Prior to the award of any contract, all SOQ5 will be designated confidential to the extent permitted by applicable state and federal law. However, all SOQs will likely be regarded as public records once the contract is awarded, or this Request for SOQs is rescinded and this solicitation is terminated. Any information that a firm considers highly confidential information should be discussed orally at the interview and not deposited in writing with the County. The County cannot guarantee any protection from disclosure of the information furnished in a SOQ. B. Retention of SOQs. The County reserves the right to retain all SOQs submitted. C. Termination. The County reserves the right to terminate this Request for SOQs at any time. D. Amendments to Request for SOQs. The County reserves the right to amend this Request for SOQs by addendum prior to the final date of submittal. VIII. SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS Firms desiring to respond to this request are asked to submit one (1) original and six (6) copies of the Statement of Qualifications. SOQ s are due by 5:00 PM (PST) on January 30, 2009, and may be mailed or hand delivered in a sealed package to the following address: Page 8 ofl2

9 Daniel Shephard, Deputy County Counsel County of Orange 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Ste. 407 P.O. Box 1379 Santa Ana, CA IX. OTHER PROCEDURAL INFORMATION The County reserves the right to negotiate modifications with any law firm(s) as necessary to serve the best interests of the County. Any proposal may be rejected if it is conditional, incomplete or deviates from the specifications in this REQ. The County reserves the right to waive, at its discretion, any procedural irregularity, immaterial defects, or other improprieties which the County deems reasonably correctable or otherwise not warranting rejection of the proposal. Any waiver will not excuse a law firm from full compliance with all other components of the RFQ. The County reserves the right to: a) negotiate the final contract with any respondent and with one or more law firm as is deemed appropriate in the sole discretion of the County; b) withdraw this RFQ in whole or in part at any time without prior notice and, furthermore, makes no representations that any contract will be awarded to any law firm responding to this RFQ; or, c) reject any proposal if it is conditional, incomplete or deviates significantly from the services requested in this RFQ. Nothing contained in this request for Statement of Qualifications shall create any contractual relationship between the County of Orange, the OCDA or the OCT-IA and any responding law firm. Law firms are solely responsible for any costs incurred in the development and submission of the SOQs or any other presentation, in response to the RFQ. Page 9 of 12

10 ATTACHMENT A GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET FOR REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING REQUEST FOR SOQ Please complete and place at the front of your Statement of Qualification. All information submitted with your Statement of Qualification will be maintained in confidence only to the extent permitted by state and federal law. Legal Name of Firm Corporation Identification Number and Federal Employer Identification Number Date Firm s Address Type of Organization (Partnership, Corporation, etc.) Name of Lead Attorney, Title, State Bar Number Name, Title and Telephone Number of Contact for this Proposal Mailing Address of Contact Person Listing of key support professionals proposed, and areas of responsibility: ATTACHMENT A

11 ATTACHMENT B LISTING OF SIGNIFICANT REDEVELOPMENT LAW AND/OR HOUSING MATTERS WITHIN THE PAST TEN YEARS Matter Entity Represented Status or Outcome Comments* * Include information requested in Item IV of the Request for Statement of Qualifications as well as any other relevant information concerning subject matter. ATTACHMENT B

12 ATTACHMENT C COUNTY S CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR OUTSIDE COUNSEL Without limitation as to, or alteration of, obligations otherwise imposed on ATTORNEYS with respect to COUNTY under the Rules of Professional Conduct or under law, and in addition to such obligations, ATTORNEYS agree to comply with the following portion of the Conflicts of Interest Policy adopted by COUNTY S Board of Supervisors on September 24, 1985: It is the policy of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of COUNTY and all other governmental entities of which it is the governing board, to prohibit the employment by any law firm adverse to COUNTY while simultaneously being employed by COUNTY, unless the Board is advised of, and gives specific consent to, such adverse employment. Any law firm which has been retained by COUNTY which desires employment which is or may be adverse to COUNTY shall transmit a statement of such desire to the County Counsel prior to undertaking such employment. The statement shall include a description of the employment and the reasons, if any, why COUNTY should consent. The County Counsel will forward the request to the Board of Supervisors with recommendation for action. If the Board of Supervisors declines to consent to the requested employment, the law firm shall decline any such employment. The authority to give consent of COUNTY is not delegated to any officer or employee of COUNTY. The COUNTY recognizes that this policy may exceed the Rules of Professional Conduct and of the State Bar of California. Where applicable, law firms employed by the COUNTY shall comply with such rules in securing necessary consent from their other clients. ATTACHMENT C