Immigration Attorney Services - Q&A - Immigration Attorney Services

Department of Human Resources
120 State Street, 5th Floor | Montpelier VT 05620-2505
802-828-3491 phone
https://humanresources.vermont.gov/
SEALED BID
Request For Proposal
Legal Services - Immigration
ISSUE DATE April 8, 2026
QUESTIONS DUE April 15, 2026 - 4:30 PM (ET)
RFP RESPONSES DUE BY April 22, 2026 - 4:30 PM (ET)
Please be advised that all notifications, releases, and addendums associated with this
RFP will be posted at:
http://www.bgs.state.vt.us/pca/bids/bids.php
The state will make no attempt to contact interested parties with updated information. It is the
responsibility of each bidder to periodically check the above webpage for any and all
notifications, releases and addendums associated with this RFP.
STATE CONTACT: Beth Fastiggi
TELEPHONE: 802- 828-6986
E-MAIL: Beth.Fastiggi@vermont.gov
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OVERVIEW:
1.1. SCOPE AND BACKGROUND:
The State of Vermont employs approximately 8,000 people who perform a wide variety of
valuable functions that serve the citizens of Vermont. The Department of Human Resources
("DHR") is responsible for managing personnel issues across state government. From time to
time, this work requires DHR to consider employment-related immigration law issues such as
eligibility to work in the United States, questions regarding employees' or applicants' immigration
status, and work visas.
1.2. SCOPE: Through this Request for Proposals ("RFP"), DHR seeks proposals from qualified legal
services providers with sufficient expertise in immigration law to provide as needed immigration
law advice and representation to the State of Vermont in connection with employment-related
immigration issues that may be presented. DHR expects its needs for these services will be
occasional and periodic and will be required only and strictly on an "as needed" basis. Interested
parties should anticipate a maximum of 360 hours of legal services over the duration of the
contract-though no specific amount of work is promised or guaranteed.
1.3. CONTRACT PERIOD: Contracts arising from this RFP will be for a period of 24 months with an
option to renew for up to three additional twelve-month periods. The State anticipates the start
date for such contract(s) will be May 1, 2026.
1.4. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT: All communications concerning this RFP are to be addressed
in writing to the State Contact listed on the front page of this RFP. Actual or attempted contact
with any other individual from the State concerning this RFP is strictly prohibited and may result
in disqualification.
1.5. QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD: Any bidder requiring clarification of any section of this
RFP or wishing to comment on any requirement of the RFP must submit specific questions in
writing no later than the deadline for question indicated on the first page of this RFP. Questions
may be e-mailed to the point of contact on the front page of this RFP. Questions or comments
not raised in writing on or before the last day of the question period are thereafter waived. At
the close of the question period a copy of all questions or comments and the State's responses
will be sent via email to those who have contacted the State with interest in this RFP. All
information provided by vendors during this process will be public and bidders shall not provide
confidential information, except as described in 4.1 below.
1.6. CHANGES TO THIS RFP: Any modifications to this RFP will be made in writing by the State
through the issuance of an Addendum to this RFP and posted online at
http://www.bgs.state.vt.us/pca/bids/bids.php . Modifications from any other source are not to be
considered.
2. DETAILED REQUIREMENTS/DESIRED OUTCOMES: DHR seeks legal services to support its Legal
Division in advising State departments and agencies on immigration-related employment law issues.
The selected contractor must be readily available to provide high quality legal guidance for the
following services:
* General immigration-related employment matters
* Compliance with Federal immigration laws
* Visa requirements and work eligibility
* Sponsorship
* Other immigration issues as requested
The selected contractor will work directly with the DHR General Counsel and the DHR Legal Division
and may be required to communicate with State of Vermont agency and/or department leaders and
employees via telephone, email, video calls, in-person and/or other method.
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Proposals should address the bidder's general approach to, and experience with, the subject matter
and any certifications they will bring to the areas outlined in this RFP.
3. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:
3.1.1. PRICING: Bidders must price the terms of this solicitation at their best pricing. Any and all
costs that Bidder wishes the State to consider must be submitted for consideration. Prices
and/or rates shall remain firm for the initial term of the contract. The pricing policy submitted
by Bidder must (i) be clearly structured, accountable, and auditable and (ii) cover the full
spectrum of materials and/or services required.
3.1.2. Cooperative Agreements. Bidders that have been awarded similar contracts through a
competitive bidding process with another state and/or cooperative are welcome to submit
the pricing in response to this solicitation.
3.2. STATEMENT OF RIGHTS: The State shall have the authority to evaluate Responses and select
the Bidder(s) as may be determined to be in the best interest of the State and consistent with the
goals and performance requirements outlined in this RFP. The State of Vermont reserves the
right to obtain clarification or additional information necessary to properly evaluate a proposal.
Failure of bidder to respond to a request for additional information or clarification could result in
rejection of that bidder's proposal. To secure a project that is deemed to be in the best interest of
the State, the State reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids, in whole or in part, with
or without cause, and to waive technicalities in submissions. The State also reserves the right to
make purchases outside of the awarded contracts where it is deemed in the best interest of the
State.
3.2.1. Best and Final Offer (BAFO). At any time after submission of Responses and prior to the
final selection of Bidder(s) for Contract negotiation or execution, the State may invite
Bidder(s) to provide a BAFO. The state reserves the right to request BAFOs from only those
Bidders that meet the minimum qualification requirements and/or have not been eliminated
from consideration during the evaluation process.
3.2.2. Presentation. An in-person or webinar presentation by the Bidder may be required by the
State if it will help the State's evaluation process. The State will factor information presented
during presentations into the evaluation. Bidders will be responsible for all costs associated
with providing the presentation.
3.3. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:
3.3.1. Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCOI): An OCOI arises when a bidder as a
business entity has interests (for example, customers, partners, contracts) that could
undermine, or reasonably be perceived to undermine, its faithful and unbiased performance
of a contract with the State that may result from this solicitation.
3.3.2. Personal Conflict of Interest (PCOI): A PCOI arises when an interest held by an
individual, agent or employee of a bidder could undermine, or reasonably be perceived to
undermine, its faithful and unbiased performance of a contract with the State that may result
from this solicitation.
3.3.3. Requirements: The State does not seek to contract with any individual or business entity
having a conflict of interest which cannot be mitigated to the State's satisfaction. To ensure
the State's awareness of actual, potential, or reasonably perceived PCOIs and OCOIs,
bidders shall:
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a) Prior to submitting a proposal, conduct an internal review of its current affiliations and
activities and identify actual, potential, or reasonably perceived PCOIs or OCOIs relative
to a contract with the State that may result from this solicitation.
b) Disclose in your proposal any actual or potential PCOI or OCOI or the existence of any
facts that may cause a reasonably prudent person to perceive a PCOI or OCOI with
respect to a contract with the State that may result from this solicitation. Disclose, also,
any actions proposed to mitigate the PCOI or OCOI.
3.3.4. The State shall have sole discretion to determine whether a PCOI or OCOI can be
mitigated to the State's satisfaction and may discuss the conflict with the bidder if and to the
extent the State deems discussion necessary to its determination. The State reserves the
right to (a) reject from further consideration any proposal having a PCOI or OCIO that cannot
be mitigated to the State's full satisfaction and (b) terminate a contract upon discovery that a
contractor failed to disclose facts pertaining to a PCOI or OCOI in its proposal, or otherwise
misrepresented relevant information to the State.
3.4. WORKER CLASSIFICATION COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS: In accordance with Section 32
of The Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54), Bidders must comply with
the following provisions and requirements.
3.4.1. Self Reporting: For bid amounts exceeding $250,000.00, Bidder shall complete the
appropriate section in the attached Certificate of Compliance for purposes of self-reporting
information relating to past violations, convictions, suspensions, and any other information
related to past performance relative to coding and classification of workers. The State is
requiring information on any violations that occurred in the previous 12 months.
3.4.2. Subcontractor Reporting: For bid amounts exceeding $250,000.00, Bidders are hereby
notified that upon award of contract, and prior to contract execution, the State shall be
provided with a list of all proposed subcontractors and subcontractors' subcontractors,
together with the identity of those subcontractors' workers compensation insurance
providers, and additional required or requested information, as applicable, in accordance
with Section 32 of The Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54). This
requirement does not apply to subcontractors providing supplies only and no labor to the
overall contract or project. This list MUST be updated and provided to the State as additional
subcontractors are hired. A sample form is available online at
http://bgs.vermont.gov/purchasing-contracting/forms. The subcontractor reporting form is
not required to be submitted with the bid response.
3.5. EXECUTIVE ORDER 05-16: CLIMATE CHANGE CONSIDERATIONS IN STATE
PROCUREMENTS:
For bid amounts exceeding $25,000.00 Bidders are requested to complete the Climate Change
Considerations in State Procurements Certification, which is included in the Certificate of
Compliance for this RFP.
After consideration of all relevant factors, a bidder that demonstrates business practices that
promote clean energy and address climate change as identified in the Certification, shall be
given favorable consideration in the competitive bidding process. Such favorable consideration
shall be consistent with and not supersede any preference given to resident bidders of the State
and/or products raised or manufactured in the State, as explained in the Method of Award
section. But, such favorable consideration shall not be employed if prohibited by law or other
relevant authority or agreement.
3.6. METHOD OF AWARD: Awards will be made in the best interest of the State. The State may
award one or more contracts and reserves the right to make additional awards to other compliant
bidders at any time if such award is deemed to be in the best interest of the State. All other
considerations being equal, preference will be given first to resident bidders of the state and/or to
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products raised or manufactured in the state, and then to bidders who have practices that
promote clean energy and address climate change, as identified in the applicable Certificate of
Compliance.
3.6.1. Evaluation Criteria: Consideration shall be given to the Bidder's project approach and
methodology, qualifications and experience, ability to provide the services within the defined
timeline, cost, and/or success in completing similar projects, as applicable, and to the extent
specified below.
Overall experience and qualifications 30
Proposed approach to scope of work 20
Past performance history 10
Experience of specific attorneys assigned 10
Cost/Rate/Fee Structure 20
Responsiveness to RFP 10
Total 100
3.7. CONTRACT NEGOTIATION: Upon completion of the evaluation process, the State may select
one or more bidders with which to negotiate a contract, based on the evaluation findings and
other criteria deemed relevant for ensuring that the decision made is in the best interest of the
State. In the event State is not successful in negotiating a contract with a selected bidder, the
State reserves the option of negotiating with another bidder, or to end the proposal process
entirely.
3.8. COST OF PREPARATION: Bidder shall be solely responsible for all expenses incurred in the
preparation of a response to this RFP and shall be responsible for all expenses associated with
any presentations or demonstrations associated with this request and/or any proposals made.
3.9. CONTRACT TERMS: The selected bidder(s) will be expected to sign a contract with the State,
including the Standard Contract Form and Attachment C as attached to this RFP for reference. If
IT Attachment D is included in this RFP, terms may be modified based upon the solution
proposed by the Bidder, subject to approval by the Agency of Digital Services.
3.9.1. Business Registration. To be awarded a contract by the State of Vermont a bidder
(except an individual doing business in his/her own name) must be registered with the
Vermont Secretary of State's office https://sos.vermont.gov/corporations/registration/ and
must obtain a Contractor's Business Account Number issued by the Vermont Department of
Taxes http://tax.vermont.gov/ .
3.9.2. The contract will obligate the bidder to provide the services and/or products identified in its
bid, at the prices listed.
3.9.3. Payment Terms. Percentage discounts may be offered for prompt payments of invoices;
however, such discounts must be in effect for a period of 30 days or more in order to be
considered in making awards.
3.10. LEGAL SERVICES: If this RFP seeks a contract for legal services, the following
requirements shall apply.
3.10.1. Bidders shall disclose any matters adverse to the State.
3.10.2. Bidders shall be in good standing with their relevant authority.
3.10.3. The selected bidder(s) must agree to the following additional provisions in any contract
resulting from this RFP:
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3.10.3.1. Professional Liability Insurance - Before commencing work on this contract and
throughout the term of this contract, contractor shall procure and maintain professional
liability insurance for any and all services performed under this contract, with minimum
coverage of $1,000,000.00 per claim. See section 8 of Attachment C: Standard State
Provisions for Contracts and Grants (December 7, 2023).
3.10.3.2. Legal services - Contractor will be providing legal services under this contract.
Contractor agrees that during the term of the contract he or she will not represent
anyone in a matter, proceeding, or lawsuit against the State of Vermont or any of its
agencies or instrumentalities. After termination of this contract, contractor also agrees
that he or she will not represent anyone in a matter, proceeding, or lawsuit
substantially related to this contract.
3.10.4. Final award of contract will be contingent upon prior written approval of the Vermont
Attorney General's Office, as required by Agency of Administration Bulletin 17.10.
4. CONTENT AND FORMAT OF RESPONSES:
The content requirements listed below are the minimum requirements for State evaluation. These
requirements are not intended to limit the content of a Bidder's proposal. Bidders may include
additional information or offer alternative solutions for DHR's consideration. However, DHR
discourages overly lengthy and costly proposals, and Bidders are advised to include only such
information in their response as may be relevant to the requirements of this RFP. The Bidder, shall, at
a minimum, include the following:
4.1. Legal Experience. The Bidder should describe its experience related to the areas outlined in the
scope of services above and why it believes that it can offer DHR superior legal services. DHR is
looking for candidates with a proven track record advising public and/or private business entities
on the issues set forth in the scope of services.
4.2. Project Management Strategy. The Bidder must be prepared to describe how it handles legal
projects, how often it provides updates to the client, how it tracks important dates, how it manages
documents, and how it manages budgets and estimates.
4.3. Staffing Strategy. The Bidder must describe how it determines which attorneys it will assign to
specific client matters, whether it will use contract attorneys, and at what point it informs the client
that it may need to add additional staff to a project.
4.4. Customer Service. How the attorney or law firm treats client representatives is very important to
DHR. The Bidder must describe who will be the firm's primary contact, how accessible the firm is,
what the process is for changing the firm's primary contact person, and any other lawyer that has
been assigned to the client if client is dissatisfied. The Bidder should identify the average response
times for both potential critical and routine inquiries from DHR and detail any factors that may serve
as an exception to said response times. In addition, the Bidder should describe its data security
standards, how it will keep client communications and information safe and confidential, and how
it handles potential conflicts of interest.
4.5. Pricing/Rate. The Bidder should describe its fee structure, clarifying its use of flat fee, billable
hour, retainer, or a combination of billing methods. It should expect to provide DHR with its hourly
rate for all attorneys or support staff that will be handling DHR matters. It should also advise how
it will charge for expenses such as copies, legal research, travel, and what kinds of discounts it
may provide to clients. Finally, the Bidder should describe how it handles fee disputes. DHR
reserves the right to negotiate with the Bidder on the details of the billable hour/fee structure.
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4.6. Organization, Size, Structure, and Areas of Practice. Provide details concerning: (i) the
structure of business organization; (ii) company size and resources; (iii) areas of practice; (iv)
describe particular experience relevant to the proposed project; (iv) list all current or past State
projects; (v) office location(s); and (vi) small or minority-owned business status. If a Bidder intends
to use subcontractors, the Bidder must identify in the proposal the names of the subcontractors,
the portions of the work the subcontractors will perform, and address the background and
experience of the subcontractor(s), as required above. Please include a copy of the organization's
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policy, if available.
4.7. Attorney Qualifications. The Bidder should attach separately a description of the qualifications
of attorneys to be assigned to the representation. Descriptions should include:
1. Professional and education background of each attorney.
2. Overall supervision to be exercised during the representation.
3. Prior experience of the individual attorneys with respect to the required areas of expertise listed
above. Include resumes only of attorneys likely to be assigned to the representation.
Education, position in firm, years, and types of experience, and continuing professional
education will be considered.
4.8. Unsolicited Bidder-Confidential Information Prohibited. Bidders are hereby expressly
directed not to include any confidential information in their proposal submissions, except as
specifically permitted below. By submitting a proposal in response to this RFP, bidders
acknowledge and agree to abide by the terms and conditions outlined in this document, including
the prohibition on submitting confidential information. This prohibition reduces the burden on the
State while preventing bidder-confidential information from entering the public record.
4.9. Disclosure under Public Records Act. All information received by the State in response
to this solicitation will become part of the contract file and subject to public disclosure in
accordance with the State's Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. 315 et seq. The State may also
choose to publicly post responses to this solicitation and the resulting agreement(s), following
conclusion of this procurement process.
4.10. Unsolicited Confidential Materials. The State intends to redact or withhold only those
confidential materials specifically requested below. All other materials, including those marked as
confidential by bidders, are subject to disclosure if requested under the Public Records Act, or
public posting.
4.11. State Not Responsible for Disclosure of Unmarked Bidder-Confidential
Information. It is the sole responsibility of the bidder to ensure that, other than where specifically
directed or permitted by this RFP and accordingly marked as described below, no information that
should not be publicly disclosed is included in their proposal materials, including any 1) trade
secrets or intellectual property, 2) proprietary financial or business information, 3) personal
information, or 4) any other information that should not be disclosed to the public. For example,
bidders should avoid including specific details of their proprietary technologies or methodologies
that they consider confidential, and any references to previous client engagements should be
presented in a manner that does not disclose the client's confidential information.
4.12. The bid should include a Cover Letter and Technical Response and Price Schedule.
4.13. COVER LETTER:
4.13.1. Exceptions to Contract Terms and Conditions. If a bidder wishes to propose an exception
to any terms and conditions set forth in the Standard Contract Form and its attachments,
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such exceptions must be included in the cover letter to the RFP response. Failure to note
exceptions when responding to the RFP will be deemed to be acceptance of the State
contract terms and conditions. If exceptions are not noted in the response to this RFP but
raised during contract negotiations, the State reserves the right to cancel the negotiation if
deemed to be in the best interests of the State. Note that exceptions to contract terms may
cause rejection of the proposal, and that the State's non-rejection of a proposal on this basis
does not indicate acceptance of the exceptions.
4.14. TECHNICAL RESPONSE. In response to this RFP, a bidder shall:
4.14.1. Provide details concerning your form of business organization, company size and
resources.
4.14.2. Describe your capabilities and particular experience relevant to the RFP requirements.
4.14.3. If you have experience working with the State of Vermont, identify all current or past State
projects. Provide the name of the Vermont department or agency and the project title or a
brief description of the work. Do not include references or statements from State of Vermont
agencies or employees.
4.14.4. Identify the names of all subcontractors you intend to use, the portions of the work the
subcontractors will perform, and address the background and experience of the
subcontractor(s), in response to the questions described above in this section.
4.15. REFERENCES. Provide the names, addresses, and phone numbers of at least three
companies with whom you have transacted similar business in the last 12 months. You must
include contact names who can talk knowledgeably about performance. Do not list a State of
Vermont agency or employee as a reference.
4.16. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: Provide a sample of any reporting documentation that
may be applicable to the Detailed Requirements of this RFP.
4.17. PRICE SCHEDULE: Bidders shall submit their pricing information in the Price Schedule
attached to the RFP.
4.18. CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE: This form must be completed and submitted as part
of the response for the proposal to be considered valid.
5. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:
5.1. CLOSING DATE: Bids must be received by the State by the due date specified on the front page
of this RFP. Late bids will not be considered.
5.1.1. The State may, for cause, issue an addendum to change the date and/or time when bids
are due. If a change is made, the State will inform all bidders by posting at the webpage
indicated on the front page of this RFP.
5.1.2. There will not be a public bid opening. However, the State will record the name, city and
state for any and all bids received by the due date.
5.2. ELECTRONIC BIDS ONLY: All bids under this RFP must be submitted electronically in
accordance with the submission requirements herein.
5.2.1. Electronic bids will be accepted via email submission to Beth.Fastiggi@vermont.gov. The
subject line of the email submission must reference the Project Title as indicated on the
front page of this RFP.
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5.2.1.1. Bids must consist of a single email with a single, digitally searchable PDF attachment
containing all components of the bid. Multiple emails and/or multiple attachments will
not be accepted.
5.2.1.2. There is an attachment size limit of 40 MB. It is the Bidder's responsibility to
compress the PDF file containing its bid if necessary in order to meet this size
limitation. It is also the Bidder's responsibility to ensure that their own email system
can send and receive messages up to this size.
6. BID SUBMISSION CHECKLIST:
Cover Letter
Technical Response
Redacted Technical Response, if applicable
References
Price Schedule
Signed Certificate of Compliance
7. ATTACHMENTS:
7.1. Certificate of Compliance
7.2. Price Schedule
7.3. Worker Classification Compliance Requirement; Subcontractor Reporting Form
7.4. Standard State Contract with its associated attachments, including but not limited to,
Attachment C: Standard State Provisions for Contracts and Grants (February 13, 2026)
7.5. State of Vermont - Federal Terms Supplement - Non-Construction (December 30, 2024)
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RFP/PROJECT:
DATE:
Page 1 of 4
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
For your bid to be considered valid, this form must be completed in its entirety, executed by a
duly authorized representative of the bidder, and submitted as part of the response to the
proposal.
A. NON COLLUSION: Bidder hereby certifies that the prices quoted have been arrived at without
collusion and that no prior information concerning these prices has been received from or given to
a competitive company. If there is sufficient evidence to warrant investigation of the bid/contract
process by the Office of the Attorney General, bidder understands that this paragraph might be
used as a basis for litigation.
B. CONTRACT TERMS: Bidder hereby acknowledges that is has read, understands and agrees to
the terms of this RFP, including Attachment C: Standard State Contract Provisions, and any other
contract attachments included with this RFP.
C. WORKER CLASSIFICATION COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENT: In accordance with Section 32 of
The Vermont Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54), the following provisions and
requirements apply to Bidder when the amount of its bid exceeds $250,000.00.
Self-Reporting. Bidder hereby self-reports the following information relating to past violations,
convictions, suspensions, and any other information related to past performance relative to
coding and classification of workers, that occurred in the previous 12 months.
Summary of Detailed Information Date of Notification Outcome
Subcontractor Reporting. Bidder hereby acknowledges and agrees that if it is a successful
bidder, prior to execution of any contract resulting from this RFP, Bidder will provide to the State a
list of all proposed subcontractors and subcontractors' subcontractors, together with the identity of
those subcontractors' workers compensation insurance providers, and additional required or
requested information, as applicable, in accordance with Section 32 of The Vermont Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54), and Bidder will provide any update of such list to the State
as additional subcontractors are hired. Bidder further acknowledges and agrees that the failure to
submit subcontractor reporting in accordance with Section 32 of The Vermont Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Act No. 54) will constitute non-compliance and may result in
cancellation of contract and/or restriction from bidding on future state contracts.
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