Complex Litigation Litigation Consultants

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

For

COMPLEX LITIGATION & LITIGATION CONSULTANTS

Issued by

THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

RFP NUMBER:

OGC-2026-01

DATE OF ISSUANCE

January 9, 2026

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

Complex Litigation & Litigation Consultants

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Governor’s Office of General Counsel

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 3 PART I - GENERAL INFORMATION 4

PART II - PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS 10

PART III - CRITERIA FOR SELECTION 12

PART IV - WORK STATEMENT 15

PART V - STANDARD CONTRACT FOR LEGAL SERVICES

APPENDIX A – PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

APPENDIX B – COST SUBMITTAL

APPENDIX C – TRADE SECRET CONFIDENTIAL PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

NOTICE

APPENDIX D – STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS/CONFLICTS/TECHNICAL

QUESTIONNAIRE

APPENDIX E – PERSONNEL EXPERIENCE BY KEY POSITION

APPENDIX F – PROJECT REFERENCES

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The Commonwealth will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:

Deadline to submit Questions via email to: Jordan Kiessling @ jkiessling@pa.gov	Interested Law Firms	1/20/2026 4:00 p.m.
Answers to Potential Law Firm questions posted to the DGS PA eMarketplace website no later than this date.	Issuing Office	1/22/2026 4:00 p.m.
Please monitor website for all communications regarding the RFP.	Interested Law Firms	ONGOING
Sealed proposals must be received by the Issuing Office at: ra-gcrfpresponse@pa.gov	Interested Law Firms	2/5/2026 4:00 p.m.

PART I

GENERAL INFORMATION

I-1. Purpose. This request for proposals (RFP) provides to those Law Firms interested in submitting proposals for the subject procurement (“Offerors”) sufficient information to enable them to prepare and submit proposals for the Governor’s Office of General Counsel’s consideration on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (“Commonwealth”) to satisfy a need for complex litigation and litigation consultant services that may arise on an ad hoc basis. Specifically, Executive Order 2015-2 provides that legal service or legal consultant contracts shall be awarded on a sole source basis only when it is clearly not feasible to utilize competitive bidding because of an urgency of need or other documented circumstances. Executive Order 2015-2 further provides that the Governor’s Office of General Counsel should develop a competitively bid list of pre-approved outside counsel for those situations.

If your firm was awarded a legal services contract as a result of RFP OGC-2024-17, you do not need to reapply to this new solicitation. The purpose of this RFP is to supplement the already existing list of competitively bid pre-approved outside counsel for emergency situations.

At various times, the Commonwealth or one of its agencies has been required to initiate litigation, defend against litigation, or otherwise take exigent action, where the complex legal, factual, and/or technical nature of the action necessitates the identification of outside counsel possessing specialized capabilities. The Office of General Counsel has issued this RFP to select standing legal counsel(s) to aid the Commonwealth in such complex legal matters. For purposes of this RFP, the Commonwealth will be making a limited multiple award to the highest evaluated Firms based upon the criterion set forth in this RFP.

This RFP is issued pursuant to Executive Order 2015-2 dated January 20, 2015, and in accordance with Section 518 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, 62 P.S. § 518, and Part III Chapter 8 of the DGS Procurement Handbook.

I-2. Issuing Office. The Governor’s Office of General Counsel (“Issuing Office”) has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The sole point of contact in the Commonwealth for this RFP shall be:

Mrs. Jordan M. Kiessling, Issuing Officer

Governor’s Office of General Counsel

30 N. Third Street, Suite 200

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101

jkiessling@pa.gov

Please refer all inquiries to the Issuing Officer.

I-3. Scope. This RFP contains instructions governing the requested proposals, including the requirements for the information and material to be included; a description of the service to be provided; requirements which Law Firms must meet to be eligible for consideration; general evaluation criteria; and other requirements specific to this RFP.

I-4. Problem Statement. The Governor’s Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) has identified a need for general litigation and other emergent legal services that may arise on an ad hoc basis. The engagement may include other general work as designated by the Governor’s Office of General Counsel. For purposes of this RFP, the Commonwealth will be making a limited multiple award to the highest evaluated Law Firms based upon the criteria set forth in this RFP.

Additional detail is provided in Part IV of this RFP.

I-5. Type of Contract. It is proposed that if the Issuing Office enters into contracts as a result of this RFP, it will be a requirements contract with negotiated compensation containing the Contract Terms and Conditions as shown in Part V of the RFP. The Legal Services Contracts resulting from this RFP are intended to be state-wide contracts, housed with the Governor’s Office of General Counsel, for the benefit of the Executive Agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor’s Office of General Counsel. Awarded Law Firms may be called upon to provide legal services to any of the agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction, more fully outlined in Part IV of this RFP. Awarded Law Firms with Legal Services Contracts as a result of this procurement who are issued an appointment letter by the General Counsel for an engagement once it arises would then work with the agency identified in the cause of action. All of the Commonwealth’s Executive Agencies will be permitted to issue a notice to proceed off of the aforementioned awarded state-wide contract for purposes of the appointed engagement.

I-6 Rejection of Proposals. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received as a result of this RFP.

I-7. Incurring Costs. The Issuing Office is not liable for any costs the Law Firm incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of award of the contract.

I-8. Questions & Answers. If a Law Firm has any questions regarding this RFP, the Law Firm must submit the questions by email (with the subject line “OGC-2026-01 Question”) to the Issuing Officer named in Part I, Section I-2 of the RFP. If the Law Firm has questions, they must be submitted via email no later than the date indicated on the Calendar of Events. The Law Firm shall not attempt to contact the Issuing Officer by any other means. The Issuing Office shall post the answers to the questions on the PA eMarketplace website by the date stated on the Calendar of Events. A Law Firm who submits a question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events assumes the risk that its proposal will not be responsive or competitive because the Commonwealth is not able to respond before the proposal receipt date or in sufficient time for the Law Firm to prepare a responsive or competitive proposal. When submitted after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the Issuing Officer may respond to questions of an administrative nature by directing the questioning Law Firm to specific provisions in the RFP.  To the extent that the Issuing Office decides to respond to a non-administrative question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the answer must be provided to all Law Firms through an addendum.

All questions and responses as posted on the DGS website are considered as an addendum to, and part of, this RFP in accordance with RFP Part I, Section I-9. Each Law Firm shall be responsible to monitor the DGS website for new or revised RFP information. The Issuing Office shall not be bound by any verbal information nor shall it be bound by any written information that is not either contained within the RFP or formally issued as an addendum by the Issuing Office. The Issuing Office does not consider questions to be a protest of the specifications or of the solicitation. The required protest process for Commonwealth procurements is described on the DGS website at:

https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Handbook/Pt1/Pt%20I%20Ch%2058%20Bid%20Protests.pdf

I-9. Addenda to the RFP. If the Issuing Office deems it necessary to revise any part of this RFP before the proposal response date, the Issuing Office will post an addendum to the PA eMarketplace website. It is the Law Firm’s responsibility to periodically check the website for any new information or addenda to the RFP. Answers to the questions asked during the Questions & Answers period also will be posted to the website as an addendum to the RFP.

I-10. Response Date. To be considered for selection, electronic copies of proposals must arrive at the Issuing Office on or before the time and date specified in the RFP Calendar of Events. The Issuing Office will not accept proposals via facsimile transmission.

I-11. Proposals. To be considered, Law Firms should submit a complete response to this RFP to the Issuing Office, using the format provided in Part II. The Law Firm must provide in two (2) separate attachments, a copy of the Technical Submittal and a copy of the Cost Submittal. Law Firms must also provide a redacted version of the Technical Submittal, including Financial Capability information, in Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office-compatible format.

Law Firms should ensure that there is no costing information in the Technical Submittal. Law Firms should not reiterate technical information in the cost submittal. The Law Firm shall make no other distribution of its proposal to any other Law Firm or Commonwealth official or Commonwealth Law Firm. Each proposal page should be numbered for ease of reference. An official authorized to bind the Law Firm to its provisions must sign the proposal. If the official signs the Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix A to this RFP) and the Proposal Cover Sheet is attached to the Law Firm’s proposal, the requirement will be met. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for 120 days or until a contract is fully executed. If the Issuing Office selects the Law Firm’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Law Firm’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations.

Each Law Firm submitting a proposal specifically waives any right to withdraw or modify it, except that the Law Firm may withdraw its proposal by written notice received at the Issuing Office’s address for proposal delivery prior to the exact hour and date specified for proposal receipt. A Law Firm may modify its submitted proposal prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt only by submitting a new sealed proposal or sealed modification which complies with the RFP requirements.

I-12. Economy of Preparation. Law Firms should prepare proposals simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the Law Firm's ability to meet the requirements of the RFP.

I-13. Alternative Proposals. The Issuing Office has identified the basic approach to meeting its requirements, allowing Law Firms to be creative and propose their best solution to meeting these requirements. The Issuing Office will not accept alternative technical proposals but, as provided in Section II-3 and Appendix B, will consider alternative cost proposals.

I-14. Clarifications. Law Firms may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the Issuing Office to ensure thorough mutual understanding and Law Firm's responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The Issuing Office will initiate requests for clarification. Clarifications may occur at any stage of the evaluation and selection process.

I-15. Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The contract will require the selected Law Firm to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. The Issuing Office will consider the selected Law Firm to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters.

I-16. Proposal Contents.

A. Confidential Information. The Commonwealth is not requesting, and does not require, confidential proprietary information or trade secrets to be included as part of any Law Firms’ submissions in order to evaluate proposals submitted in response to this RFP. Accordingly, except as provided herein, Law Firms should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary or trade secret protected.  Any Law Firm who determines that it must divulge such information as part of its proposal must submit the signed written statement described in subsection C. below and must additionally provide a redacted version of its proposal, which removes only the confidential proprietary information and trade secrets, for required public disclosure purposes.

B. Commonwealth Use. All material submitted with the proposal shall be considered the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and may be returned only at the Issuing Office’s option. The Commonwealth has the right to use any or all ideas not protected by intellectual property rights that are presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract. Notwithstanding any Law Firm copyright designations contained on proposals, the Commonwealth shall have the right to make copies and distribute proposals internally and to comply with public record or other disclosure requirements under the provisions of any Commonwealth or United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

C. Public Disclosure. After the award of a contract pursuant to this RFP, all proposal submissions are subject to disclosure in response to a request for public records made under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know-Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq. If a proposal submission contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets, a signed written statement to this effect must be provided with the submission in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.707(b) for the information to be considered exempt under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(11) from public records requests. Refer to Appendix C of the RFP for a Trade Secret Form that may be utilized as the signed written statement, if applicable.

I-17. Discussions. While not required, the Issuing Office reserves the right to conduct discussions with any responsible Law Firm to determine the Law Firm’s qualifications for further consideration. Discussions shall not disclose any information derived from proposals submitted by other Law Firms.

I-18. News Releases. Law Firms shall not issue news releases, Internet postings, advertisements or any other public communications pertaining to this Engagement without prior written approval of the Issuing Office, and then only in coordination with the Issuing Office.

I-19. Restriction of Contact. From the issue date of this RFP until the Issuing Office selects a proposal for award, the Issuing Officer is the sole point of contact concerning this RFP. Any violation of this condition may be cause for the Issuing Office to reject the offending Law Firm’s proposal. If the Issuing Office later discovers that the Law Firm has engaged in any violations of this condition, the Issuing Office may reject the offending Law Firm's proposal or rescind its contract award. Law Firms must agree not to distribute any part of their proposals beyond the Issuing Office. A Law Firm who shares information contained in its proposal with other Commonwealth personnel and/or competing Law Firm personnel may be disqualified.

I-20. Issuing Office Participation. Law Firms shall provide all services, supplies, facilities, and other support necessary to complete the identified work. The Issuing Office will not provide office space or logistical support.

I-21. Term of Contract. The term of the contract will commence on the Effective Date and will end one (1) year from the Effective Date. The Commonwealth may renew the Contract for up to an additional two (2) years, in single or multiple year increments.

I-22. Law Firm’s Representations and Authorizations. By submitting its proposal, each Law Firm understands, represents, and acknowledges that:

A. All of the Law Firm's information and representations in the proposal are material and important, and the Issuing Office may rely upon the contents of the proposal in awarding the contract(s). The Commonwealth shall treat any misstatement, omission or misrepresentation as fraudulent concealment of the true facts relating to the Proposal submission, punishable pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904.

B. The Law Firm has arrived at the price(s) and amounts in its proposal independently and without consultation, communication, or agreement with any other Law Firm or entity, except for subcontractors that the Law Firm plans to utilize for this contract.

C. The Law Firm has not disclosed any aspect of its proposal to any other entity, except for subcontractors that the Law Firm plans to utilize for this contract, and it shall not disclose any of these items on or before the proposal submission deadline applicable to this RFP.

D. The Law Firm has not attempted, nor will it attempt, to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a proposal on this contract, or to submit a proposal higher than this proposal, or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive proposal or other form of complementary proposal.

E. The Law Firm makes its proposal in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive proposal.

F. To the best knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Law Firm, the Law Firm, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last four years been convicted or found liable for any act prohibited by State or Federal law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidding or proposing on any public contract, except as the Law Firm has disclosed in its proposal.

G. To the best of the knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Law Firm and except as the Law Firm has otherwise disclosed in its proposal, the Law Firm has no outstanding, delinquent obligations to the Commonwealth including, but not limited to, any state tax liability not being contested on appeal or other obligation of the Law Firm that is owed to the Commonwealth.

H. The Law Firm is not currently under suspension or debarment by the Commonwealth, any other state or the federal government, and if the Law Firm cannot so certify, then it shall submit along with its proposal a written explanation of why it cannot make such certification.

I. The Law Firm has not made, under separate contract with the Issuing Office, any recommendations to the Issuing Office concerning the need for the services described in its proposal or the specifications for the services described in the proposal.

J. Each Law Firm, by submitting its proposal, authorizes Commonwealth agencies to release to the Commonwealth information concerning the Law Firm's Pennsylvania taxes, unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation liabilities.

K. Once the Issuing Officer receives a fully signed Appointment letter back from the Law Firm, services can be performed, and Law Firm will be paid for services rendered dating back to the date of the Appointment letter.

I-23. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP. This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If a Law Firm electronically accepts the RFP, the Law Firm acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to ensure that no changes are made to the RFP. In the event of a conflict between a version of the RFP in the Law Firm’s possession and the Issuing Office’s version of the RFP, the Issuing Office’s version shall govern.

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]

PART II

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Law Firms must submit their proposals in the format, including heading descriptions, outlined below. To be considered, the proposal must respond to all requirements in this part of the RFP. Law Firms should provide any other information thought to be relevant, but not applicable to the enumerated categories, as an appendix to the Proposal. All cost data relating to this proposal should be kept separate from and not included in the Technical Submittal. Each Proposal shall consist of the following two separately attached submittals:

A. Technical Submittal, which shall be a response to RFP Part II, Section II-1; and

B. Cost Submittal, in response to RFP Part II, Section II-3;

* For purposes of this RFP, cost submittals will not be used in the scoring of the RFP. Cost submittals are to be submitted only for negotiation purposes, if and when a law firm is selected for negotiation.

The Issuing Office reserves the right to request additional information which, in the Issuing Office’s opinion, is necessary to assure that the Law Firm’s competence, number of qualified employees, business organization, and resources are adequate to perform according to the RFP.

The Issuing Office may make investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Law Firm to perform the Engagement and/or any potential conflicts the Law Firm may have that could impact their provision of legal services to the Commonwealth, and the Law Firm shall furnish to the Issuing Office all requested information and data. The Issuing Office reserves the right to reject any proposal if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such Law Firm fails to satisfy the Issuing Office that such Law Firm is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the RFP and to complete the Engagement as specified.

II-1. Technical Submittal. Using the task descriptions in Part IV of this RFP and Appendix D, Statement of Qualifications/Conflicts/Technical Questionnaire, as your reference point, explain the Law Firm’s experience, including experience of the personnel that will perform the work, and the service you will provide under this Engagement. Complete and submit Appendix D, Statement of Qualifications/Conflicts/Technical Questionnaire, Appendix E, Personnel Experience, and Appendix F, Project References, as part of your Technical Submittal. In addition, provide a narrative demonstrating the Law Firm’s knowledge of the engagement at issue as well as an analysis of the Law Firm’s plan of action consistent with the Part I, Section I-4 and Part IV of the RFP. The Technical Submittal shall be submitted as a separate attachment, separated from the Cost Submittal.

II-2. Standard Legal Services Contract Terms and Conditions.

By submitting a proposal, including the cost proposal, in response to this RFP, the Law Firm agrees that it accepts all of the terms and conditions of the legal services contract set out in Part V of the RFP. The Issuing Office will reject any proposal that is conditioned on the negotiation of the terms and conditions of the legal services contract set out in Part V of the RFP.

II-3. Cost Submittal.

* As stated above, for purposes of this RFP, cost submittals will not be used in the scoring of the RFP. Cost submittals are to be submitted only for negotiation purposes. If and when a law firm is selected for negotiations, the cost submittals will then be discussed and negotiated.

The information requested in this Part II, Section 3 shall constitute the Cost Submittal. The Cost Submittal – Appendix B shall be placed in a separate sealed envelope within the sealed proposal, separated from the technical submittal.

Offerors may address alternate pricing models that it may offer, e.g., standard hourly rates subject to an agreed upon ceiling rate, standard hourly rates less an agreed upon percentage, flat rate proposals, blended rate proposals, fixed fee per phase, deferred billing coupled with success fees, or other fee structures. The Commonwealth reserves the right to negotiate with each selected Offeror on the compensation structure of the contract.

The Commonwealth will pay reasonable, actual, ordinary, and necessary expenses for other specific materials required for and used solely in the fulfillment of the services as provided in the Standard Contract for Legal Services (Part V of the RFP). Provide information on how you propose to keep track of and charge for any expenses.

The Department will reimburse the selected Law Firm for work satisfactorily performed after execution of a written contract and the start of the contract term, in accordance with contract requirements, and only after the Issuing Office has received a signed Appointment letter back from the Law Firm. At that point the Law Firm will be paid for services rendered dating back to the date of the Appointment letter.

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]

PART III

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

III-1. Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements. To be eligible for selection, a proposal must be:

A. Timely received from a Law Firm;

B. Properly signed by the Law Firm;

III-2. Technical Nonconforming Proposals. The two (2) Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements set forth in Section III-1 above (A&B) are the only RFP requirements that the Commonwealth will consider to be non-waivable. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (1) waive any other technical or immaterial nonconformities in a Law Firm’s proposal, (2) allow the Law Firm to cure the nonconformity, or (3) consider the nonconformity in the scoring of the Law Firm’s proposal.

III-3. Evaluation. The Issuing Office has selected a committee of qualified personnel to review and evaluate timely submitted proposals and to submit recommendations to the Contracting Officer.

III-4. Evaluation Criteria. The following criteria will be used in evaluating each proposal:

A. Technical: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the technical criterion for this RFP as 100% of the total points. Evaluation will be based upon the following, in equal order of importance:

i. Understanding the Problem

ii. Contractor Prior Experience

iii. Proposed Personnel Qualifications

iv. Soundness of Approach

As part of your technical submission, provide a narrative demonstrating the Law Firm’s knowledge of the engagement at issue as well as an analysis of the Law Firm’s plan of action consistent with the problem statement and the Statement of Work.

The final Technical scores are determined by giving the maximum number of technical points available to the proposal with the highest raw technical score. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Technical Scoring Formula set forth at the following webpage:

RFP_SCORING_FORMULA (pa.gov)

III-5. Law Firm Responsibility. To be deemed responsible for purposes of this engagement, an Law Firm must submit a responsive proposal and possess the capability to fully perform the contract requirements in all respects and the integrity and reliability to assure good faith performance of the contract.

A. In order for a Law Firm to be considered responsible for this RFP and therefore eligible for award, the total score for the technical submittal of the Law Firm’s proposal must be greater than or equal to 75% of the available technical points. Should a Law Firm’s proposal not receive a score greater than or equal to 75% of the available technical points, the Law Firm will not be considered responsible solely for the purposes of this RFP, and as such, the Law Firm’s cost proposal and law firm diversity submittal will not be evaluated.

B. Further, the Issuing Office will award a contract only to a Law Firm determined to be

responsible in accordance with the most current version of Commonwealth

Management Directive 215.9, Contractor Responsibility Program.

III-6. Final Ranking and Award.

A. After any discussions conducted with responsible Law Firms, the Issuing Office will rank responsible Law Firms according to the total overall score assigned to each, in descending order.

B. For purposes of this RFP, the Commonwealth will be making a limited multiple award. In the order of their respective final qualification ranking, the Commonwealth in its sole discretion will determine the number of firms to be awarded a contract based on the number of responsive proposals received from responsible Law Firms meeting the technical scoring threshold and with which fair and reasonable compensation can be negotiated as provided below. The Commonwealth may select a contractor from the law firm(s) awarded contracts when services are needed. The selected firm(s) will be required to furnish the services requested by the Commonwealth at the contracted compensation.

C. Pursuant to Section 518 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, award will be made following negotiation of fair and reasonable compensation. Law Firms will be evaluated based upon the evaluation factors set forth in this RFP, and then qualitatively ranked. The Commonwealth may then select the top ranked Law Firms for negotiation. If terms cannot be agreed upon, the Commonwealth may then select the next best qualified Law Firm for negotiation. Award will be made to the responsible Law Firms determined to be the best qualified after fair and reasonable compensation has been negotiated.

D. If compensation cannot be agreed upon with the best qualified responsible Law Firm, then negotiations will be formally terminated with the Law Firm. If proposals were submitted by one or more other responsible Law Firm(s) negotiations may be conducted with the other responsible Law Firm or Law Firm(s) in the order of their respective qualification ranking. Contracts may be awarded to the responsible Law Firm(s) than ranked as best qualified if the amount of compensation is determined to be fair and reasonable.

E. The Issuing Office has the discretion to reject all proposals or cancel the request for proposals, at any time prior to the time a contract is fully executed, when it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth. The reasons for the rejection or cancellation shall be made part of the contract file.

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]

PART IV

STATEMENT OF WORK

IV-1. Objectives.

General. The purpose of Part IV-1 is to provide an overview of the engagements envisioned as a result of this RFP. Interested Law Firms should use this Part in their technical proposal and in conjunction with the Technical Submission (Appendix D).

In accordance with Executive Order 2015-02, the Commonwealth seeks to procure, through a limited multiple award, Law Firms to provide complex litigation services to the Commonwealth on an ad hoc basis. Specifically, Executive Order 2015-02 provides that legal service or legal consultant contracts shall be awarded on a sole source basis only when it is clearly not feasible to utilize competitive bidding because of an urgency of need or other documented circumstances. This includes those times when litigation is being responded to or defended against, along with contemplated, as well as those instances in which the subject matter or substance of the engagement renders competitive bidding unfeasible.

At various times, the Commonwealth or its agencies may be required to initiate litigation, defend against litigation, or otherwise take exigent legal action, where the complex legal, factual, and/or technical nature of the action renders the utilization of the competitive bidding process for related legal services unfeasible, and necessitates the identification of outside counsel possessing the relevant specialized capabilities. The Governor’s Office of General Counsel, has issued this RFP to select standing legal counsel(s) to aid the Commonwealth in such legal matters, as further outlined below.

The selected Law Firm(s) will assist in developing a strategy to assert or defend the Commonwealth’s interests. The selected Law Firm(s) will be expected to carry the litigation through pretrial preparation, pleadings, discovery, motions practice, and proceedings through final verdict or other disposition, settlement negotiations (if appropriate), and post-trial matters. The selected Law Firm(s) may also be considered for handling any subsequent appeals.

The selected Law Firm(s) may be called upon at any time to provide specific services to the Commonwealth based upon specific need, capacity, qualification or any such other circumstances as the General Counsel shall determine. The Office of General Counsel is looking for geographic diversity to provide services expeditiously and economically regardless of the location of need. Nothing herein shall in any way limit the discretion of the General Counsel to make assignments to serve the needs of the Commonwealth as deemed appropriate.

The General Counsel reserves the right to make assignments as they may deem necessary or desirable, in their judgment, for all aspects of, or roles within the scope of, this RFP. This RFP is not meant to replace or supplement the already established Complex Litigation & Litigation Consultants contracted pool of law firms.

If your firm was awarded a contract for legal services as a result of RFP OGC-2022-20 for Complex Litigation & Litigation Consultants, there is no need to further respond to this new solicitation. Those contracts will not expire until March 2026. The purpose of this RFP is to supplement the already existing list of competitively bid pre-approved outside counsel for emergency situations.

Specific. Awarded Law Firms must be willing to provide legal services to any of the agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction or served by the Office of General Counsel, as outlined below. Interested Law Firms should demonstrate and articulate a thorough understanding of Commonwealth procedures, processes and directives, and the internal workings of the Commonwealth Executive Branch and the Governor’s Office of General Counsel. The Executive Agencies served by the Governor’s Office of General Counsel include:

• Department of Aging

• Department of Agriculture

• Department of Banking and Securities

• Department of Community and Economic Development

• Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

• Department of Corrections

• Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs

• Department of Education

• Department of Environmental Protection

• Department of General Services

• Department of Health

• Department of Human Services

• Department of Labor and Industry

• Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

• Department of Revenue

• Department of State

• Department of Transportation

• Insurance Department

• Office of Administration

• Office of the Budget

• Office of the Governor

• Office of the Lieutenant Governor

• Office of State Inspector General

• Patient Safety Authority

• Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency

• Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency

• Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange Authority

• Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority

• Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency

• Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System

• Pennsylvania Parole Board

• Pennsylvania State Police

• Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

• Pennsylvania Council on the Arts

• Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

• State Public School Building Authority

There are various Boards and Commissions within these Commonwealth agencies that have separate line items within the agency budget but are considered independent of the Secretary. Please be aware that these Boards and Commissions are under the Governor’s jurisdiction for purposes of Executive Order 2015-02. Such Boards and Commissions include, but are in no way limited to:

• Department of State (Discrete Professional Licensing Boards)

• Department of Environmental Protections (Environmental Quality Board)

• Department of Agriculture (Farmland Preservation Board)

Interested Law Firms should demonstrate and articulate a thorough understanding of court procedures, state and federal, and must be able to provide services in all Pennsylvania courts and administrative tribunals, both federal and state. This also includes, but is not limited to, quasi-judicial boards and administrative proceedings such as before the Board of Claims and the Environmental Hearing Board.

Interested Law Firms are encouraged to apply for representation in one or more of the specialty areas noted below and clearly note it in their proposals.

Interested Law Firms should demonstrate and articulate a thorough understanding of the types of actions that may arise from this engagement including, but not limited to, examples of experience and proposed approaches. Examples of the types of engagements envisioned as a result of this RFP include, but are in no way limited to:

• Class actions and affirmative litigation;

• Bankruptcy and related matters;

• Telecommunications and information technology matters;

• Constitutional challenges;

• Civil rights matters;

• King’s Bench matters;

• Extraordinary Jurisdiction cases;

• Antitrust matters;

• Mass torts litigation;

• Securities and transactions matters;

• Takeover actions;

• Labor and employment matters;

• Patent or intellectual property matters;

• Environmental matters including natural resource damage claims;

• Administrative or federal enforcement actions brought by federal agencies including, but not limited to, the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, the Department of Education and its Office of Civil Rights and the Environmental Protection Agency;

• Civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) actions; and

• Contract matters.

Related areas of expertise that should be demonstrated and articulated include, but are in no way limited to:

• Electronic document retention capabilities, data management, e-discovery and litigation support in connection with extensive discovery;

• Ability to manage concurrent, related and/or derivative multi-jurisdictional civil, criminal and/or administrative proceedings;

• Coordination and consolidation of overlapping litigation;

• Choice of law issues; and

• Trial management and strategy, such as bifurcation and other issues.

IV-2. Requirements. Within the Technical Submittal (Appendix D), the Offeror shall confirm that each requirement of this RFP shall be met and include an explanation of how the Offeror intends to meet each requirement. Specific attention should be given to Part IV-1, above.

A. Qualifications and Conflicts. The selected Offeror shall address each qualification requirement set forth in Appendix D, Statement of Qualifications/Conflicts/Technical Questionnaire.

B. Key Personnel. Key project staffing changes must be approved by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth reserves the rights to request, at its sole discretion, that the selected Offeror remove and replace counsel or staff from the Engagement.

C. Ongoing Compliance with Qualifications; Removals. The Commonwealth may reject an Offeror’s proposal, or remove or suspend the Offeror for reasons that include, but are not limited to:

1) Unprofessional performance;

2) Being the subject of disciplinary/licensing actions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court;

3) Filing for protection under federal or state bankruptcy laws;

4) Failure to continue to meet the requirements of this RFP;

5) Failure to pay federal, state and/or local taxes; or

6) Undisclosed conflict of interest.

IV-3. Tasks.

A. Legal Services. The selected Offeror shall provide legal services and perform all tasks necessary to successfully represent the Commonwealth as set forth in Part IV-1, above.

B. Contract Close Out. Prior to close out or termination of the contract, the selected Offeror shall cooperate with the Commonwealth and any subsequent Contractor in any activities related to the transition/turnover of responsibilities.

IV-4. Reports and Project Control.

The selected Offeror(s) shall prepare and submit at the request of the Commonwealth, subject to attorney-client and other applicable privileges, memoranda of law and other documents related to the services performed for this Engagement

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]