Legal Research Platform

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT Request for Proposals (RFP) No.:
CHAPEL HILL RFP06122026VLG
3500 Administrative Office Building
104 Airport Drive Title: Legal Research Platform
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Refer ALL inquiries regarding this RFP to: Issue Date:
Name: Veronica Green Friday June 12, 2026
Title: IT Services Category Manager
Due Date and Time:
Email Address: veronica.green@unc.edu Friday July 17, 2026 at 12:00PM ET
OFFER
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (the "University") solicits offers for goods and/or services as
described in this solicitation. All offers received shall be treated as offers to contract as defined in 9 NCAC
06A.0102(12).
EXECUTION PAGE
In compliance with this Request for Proposals, and subject to all of the terms and conditions herein, the
undersigned offers and agrees to furnish any and all goods and/or services upon which prices are offered, at the
price(s) offered herein, within the time specified herein.
Failure to execute/sign offer prior to submittal shall render offer invalid. Late offers are not acceptable.
OFFEROR:
STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:
CITY, STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE TEL. NO
PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING: FAX NUMBER:
AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: DATE: E-MAIL:
Offer valid for one hundred eighty (180) days from date of offer opening unless otherwise stated here: ____ days
ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER
If any or all parts of this offer are accepted, an authorized representative of the University shall affix its signature
hereto. Acceptance shall create a contract having an order of precedence as follows: special terms and
conditions specific to the RFP, if any; requirements and specifications of the RFP; the University Information
Technology (IT) Terms and Conditions; and the agreed portion of the awarded Vendor's offer (including any Best
and Final Offer(s)). A copy of this acceptance will be forwarded to the awarded Vendor(s).
FOR UNIVERSITY USE ONLY
Offer accepted and contract awarded this date , as indicated on attached certification,
by (Authorized representative of University).
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THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
AT CHAPEL HILL
Request for Proposals No.:
RFP06122026VLG
______________________________________________________
For internal processing, including tabulation of proposals, provide your company's electronic Vendor Portal (eVP)
Number. Pursuant to G.S. 132-1.10(b) this identification number shall not be released to the public. This page
will be removed and shredded, or otherwise kept confidential, before the procurement file is made available
for public inspection.
This page is to be filled out and returned with your proposal.
Failure to do so may subject your proposal to rejection.
______________________________________________________
Vendor Name
___________________________________________________
Vendor eVP Number
Note: For a contract to be awarded to you, your company (you) must be a North Carolina registered supplier in good standing. You
must enter the supplier number assigned through the electronic Vendor Portal (eVP). If you do not have a vendor number, register at
https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login.
Electronic responses ONLY will be accepted for this solicitation.
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Table of Contents
1.0 Anticipated Procurement Schedule ............................................................................................. 5
2.0 Purpose of RFP ........................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 5
2.2 RFP Document ....................................................................................................................... 5
2.3 Interpretation of Terms and Phrases ...................................................................................... 5
2.4 Contract Term ........................................................................................................................ 5
2.5 Contract Type ......................................................................................................................... 6
2.6 UNC System Institutions ........................................................................................................ 6
2.7 Agency Background ........................................................................................................... 7
2.8 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................. 7
3.0 RFP Requirements and Specifications ........................................................................................ 7
3.1 Scope of Work ........................................................................................................................ 7
3.2 General Requirements and Specifications ............................................................................. 7
3.3 Security Requirements ........................................................................................................... 8
3.4 Business and Technical Requirements ................................................................................ 9
3.5 Business and Technical Specifications ............................................................................... 9
4.0 Cost of Vendor's Offer ............................................................................................................... 11
4.1 Offer Costs ........................................................................................................................... 11
4.2 Payment Schedule ............................................................................................................... 11
5.0 Evaluation ................................................................................................................................. 11
5.1 Source Selection .................................................................................................................. 11
5.2 Evaluation Criteria ................................................................................................................ 11
5.3 Interviews, Oral Presentations, and/or Product Demonstrations .......................................... 12
5.4 Best and Final Offer (BAFO) ................................................................................................ 12
5.5 Possession and Review ....................................................................................................... 12
6.0 Vendor Information and Instructions ......................................................................................... 12
6.1 General Conditions of Offer .................................................................................................. 12
6.2 General Instructions for Vendor ........................................................................................... 14
6.3 Instructions for Offer Submission ......................................................................................... 16
7.0 Other Requirements and Special Terms ................................................................................... 18
7.1 Vendor Utilization of Workers Outside the United States ..................................................... 18
7.2 Financial Stability ................................................................................................................. 18
7.3 Vendor Exceptions; Additional Terms and Conditions ......................................................... 18
7.4 Resellers .............................................................................................................................. 19
7.5 Vendor's Representations .................................................................................................... 19
7.6 Personnel ............................................................................................................................. 20
7.7 Security and Background Checks ........................................................................................ 20
7.8 Disclosure of Litigation ......................................................................................................... 20
7.9 Criminal Conviction .............................................................................................................. 21
7.10 Assurances .......................................................................................................................... 21
7.11 Confidentiality of Offers ........................................................................................................ 21
7.12 Project Management ............................................................................................................ 22
7.13 Meetings ............................................................................................................................... 22
7.14 Recycling and Source Reduction ......................................................................................... 22
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Attachment A: Definitions .................................................................................................................... 23
Attachment B: University Information Technology (IT) Terms and Conditions .................................... 24
Attachment C: Description of Offeror Form ......................................................................................... 36
Attachment D: Cost Form ................................................................................................................... 38
Attachment E: Vendor Certification Form ............................................................................................ 39
Attachment F: Location of Workers Utilized by Vendor Form.............................................................. 40
Attachment G: References .................................................................................................................. 41
Attachment H: Certification of Financial Condition Form ..................................................................... 42
Attachment I: Requirements Checklist ................................................................................................ 43
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1.0 ANTICIPATED PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE
The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. The University will make every effort to adhere
to this schedule, but all dates and times are subject to change at the University's sole discretion. All times
listed are in Eastern Time (ET).
Action Responsibility (no later than) Date and Time
RFP Issued University June 12,2026
Written Questions Deadline Vendors June 24, 2026, at 12:00PM ET
University's Response to Written
University July 10,2026
Questions / RFP Addendum Issued
Offer Deadline Vendors July 17, 2026 at 12:00PM ET
Selection of Finalists University July 24. 2026
Interviews, Oral Presentations, and/or All presentations complete by
Finalists
Product Demonstrations August 7, 2026
University / Intended
Contract Negotiations TBD
Awardee
Contract Award University TBD
Contract Effective Date University TBD
2.0 PURPOSE OF RFP
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("UNC-CH" or the "University"), through its Office of University
Counsel ("OUC"), is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to provide a comprehensive, cloud-based legal
research platform. OUC seeks a solution that supports federal, state, administrative, and other legal
research, as well as related tools that enhance legal practice, including litigation analytics and support,
document drafting, resource toolkits, docket monitoring, legal news and alerts, and public records research.
2.2 RFP DOCUMENT
This RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before
contract award. All attachments and addenda released for this RFP in advance of any contract award are
incorporated herein by reference.
2.3 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES
This RFP serves two functions: (1) to advise potential Vendors of the parameters of the solution being sought
by the University; and (2) to provide (together with other specified documents) the terms and conditions of
any contract(s) resulting from this solicitation. The use of phrases such as "shall," "must," and "requirements"
are intended to create enforceable contract conditions. As used herein, phrases such as "reasonable",
"necessary", or "proper" shall be interpreted solely by the University.
2.4 CONTRACT TERM
A contract awarded pursuant to this RFP shall have an effective date as provided in either the Notice of
Award or the resulting contract, as applicable (the "Effective Date"). The contract shall have an initial term
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of three (3) year(s) from the Effective Date (the "Initial Term"), unless terminated earlier in accordance with
the terms and conditions of the contract.
At the end of the Initial Term, the University shall have the option, at its sole discretion, to renew the contract
on the same terms and conditions for up to two (2) additional one-year (1) terms. The University will give the
Vendor written notice of its intent to exercise each renewal option no later than sixty (60) days before the
end of the contract's then-current term.
In addition to any optional renewal terms, and with the Vendor's concurrence, the University retains the option
to extend the contract for one (1) year periods after the last active term.
2.5 CONTRACT TYPE
Definite Quantity Contract - This RFP will establish a closed-ended contract between the awarded
Vendor(s) (if any) and the University to furnish a pre-determined quantity of goods and/or services during a
specified period of time.
The University reserves the right to make partial, progressive or multiple awards (a) where it is advantageous
to award separately by line item(s), (b) where more than one Vendor is needed or desired to meet the
contemplated specifications as to quantity, quality, delivery, service, or geographical areas, and (c) where
other factors are deemed to be necessary or proper to the purchase in question.
Any resulting contract may be used by any other UNC Chapel Hill department, office, school, etc. at their
discretion.
2.6 UNC SYSTEM INSTITUTIONS
Any resulting contract may be extended to any other University of North Carolina System (UNC System)
institution (each an "Institution") to allow Institution to purchase relevant products and services from Vendor
at then-current prices in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract. Use of the contract by
another Institution shall be strictly voluntary.
Execution of a separate contract is not required to participate, unless an amendment to the material terms
of the contract is required by either the Institution or Vendor, in which case the resulting contract shall be
between the Institution and Vendor. Other Institutions shall place their own orders directly with Vendor and
shall fully and independently administer their use of the contract, including contractual disputes, invoicing,
and payments, without any participation from the University.
The University shall not be responsible for any costs, damages, or other obligations incurred by any other
Institution as a result of any use of the contract. It is understood and agreed that the University (a) is not
responsible for the acts or omissions of any other Institution, and (b) will not be considered in default of the
contract due to the acts or omissions of any other Institution, no matter the circumstances.
UNC System institutions currently include the following:
Appalachian State University
East Carolina University
Elizabeth City State University
Fayetteville State University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
North Carolina State University
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University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of North Carolina System Office
Western Carolina University
Winston-Salem State University
2.7 AGENCY BACKGROUND
UNC-Chapel Hill is a public research university chartered in 1789 and is one of the oldest public universities
in the United States. It is the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System and a global leader
in teaching, research, and public service. With more than 31,000 students and over 12,000 employees, the
University is a large, complex institution headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Office of University Counsel ("OUC") provides a full range of legal services to the University, including
advice and counsel, litigation, administrative proceedings, transactions, investigations, policy, and
compliance matters. As a result, OUC requires reliable, efficient access to legal research tools and related
resources that support a broad range of legal work across multiple subject areas and jurisdictions.
2.8 PROBLEM STATEMENT
OUC's current legal research environment is approaching the end of its contractual term. Attorneys and
professional staff require timely, accurate, and efficient access to legal authorities across federal, state, and
administrative jurisdictions in order to support litigation, advisory, transactional, policy, and compliance work.
Because legal research directly affects the quality of legal analysis and advocacy, OUC requires tools that
help users identify relevant authority efficiently, validate that authority reliably, and work effectively across a
broad range of subject areas.
In addition to core legal research functionality, OUC relies on related resources that support broader legal
workflows, including practical guidance, litigation analytics, docket monitoring, public records research, and
drafting support. Limitations in usability, fragmented access to paywalled resources, and reduced pricing
transparency can introduce unnecessary risk, create inefficiencies, and require users to spend additional
time locating materials across separate platforms.
The University therefore seeks a modern, comprehensive legal research platform that provides reliable
access to primary and secondary legal resources, supports a wide range of legal workflows, improves
efficiency and usability, and delivers clear value over the full contract term.
3.0 RFP REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS
3.1 SCOPE OF WORK
The selected vendor shall provide subscription-based access to a legal research platform and related
services, including licensing, configuration, testing, implementation, training, customer support, and ongoing
maintenance.
3.2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS
3.2.1 REQUIREMENTS
Means, as used herein, a function, feature, or performance that the system must provide, or a
condition that the Vendor must meet.
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3.2.2 SPECIFICATIONS
Means, as used herein, a description of the characteristics of the desired goods and/or services (e.g.,
a specification that documents the function and performance of a system or system component, or a
service to be provided).
The apparent silence of the specifications as to any detail, or the apparent omission of detailed
description concerning any point, shall be regarded as meaning that only the best commercial practice
is to prevail and that only processes, configurations, materials and workmanship of the first quality
may be used. Upon any notice of noncompliance provided by the University, Vendor shall supply
proof of compliance with the specifications. Vendor must provide written notice of its intent to deliver
alternate or substitute services, products, goods or other Deliverables. Alternate or substitute
services, products, goods or Deliverables may be accepted or rejected in the sole discretion of the
University; and any such alternates or substitutes must be accompanied by Vendor's certification and
evidence satisfactory to the University that the function, characteristics, performance and endurance
will be equal or superior to the original Deliverables specified.
3.2.3 SITE AND SYSTEM PREPARATION
Vendors shall provide to the University complete site requirement specifications for the Deliverables,
if any. These specifications shall ensure that the Deliverables to be installed or implemented shall
operate properly and efficiently within the site and system environment. Any alterations or
modification in site preparation, which are directly attributable to incomplete or erroneous
specifications provided by the Vendor and which would involve additional expenses to the University,
shall be made at the expense of the Vendor.
3.2.4 EQUIVALENT ITEMS
Whenever a material, article or piece of equipment is identified in the specification(s) by reference to
a manufacturer's or Vendor's name, trade name, catalog number or similar identifier, it is intended to
establish a standard for determining substantial conformity during evaluation, unless otherwise
specifically stated as a brand specific requirement (in which case, no substitute items will be allowed).
Any material, article or piece of equipment of other manufacturers or Vendors shall perform to the
standard of the item named. Equivalent offers must be accompanied by sufficient descriptive
literature and/or specifications to provide for detailed comparison.
3.3 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
If it is determined that Sensitive Information is in scope, then before a contract can be awarded, the Intended
Awardee must:
3.3.1 Provide a current SOC 2 Type II report (or a comparable third-party assessment), complete a
questionnaire provided by the University, and submit accompanying documentation at any
time upon request by the University.
3.3.2 Pass an ISO risk assessment and maintain a passing status upon re-review.
3.3.3 Pass a DGOG review.
3.3.4 If Protected Health Information, electronic Protected Health Information, or Individually
Identifiable Health Information (as each is defined by HIPAA) is in scope, pass an IPO review.
3.3.5 Execute any additional, related document(s) (e.g., Data Use Agreement, Business Associate
Agreement, etc.) required by the University based on the type of data in scope.
NOTE: Copies of PCI and security compliance documentation will not be requested until later phases of the
RFP process. Vendor should not submit compliance documentation with its offer.
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If the Intended Awardee cannot meet the requirements and/or does not pass the required reviews outlined
above, then the University reserves the right to take any action available to it, including but not limited to:
select another prospective vendor, cancel the solicitation and rebid it, cancel the solicitation and negotiate
with a known source of supply.
3.4 BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
The awarded Vendor / solution must meet the following requirements:
3.4.1 Vendor must provide a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), or acceptable
alternative, that details the solution's accessibility compliance.
3.4.2 Have a third-party security certification or attestation (e.g., SOC Type 2 or ISO 27001 report).
3.4.3 Be web-based and accessible via modern browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox).
3.4.4 Support single sign-on (SSO) authentication.
3.4.5 Permit saving, downloading, printing, and emailing documents.
Vendor shall return with its offer a completed ATTACHMENT I: Requirements Checklist.
3.5 BUSINESS AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The Vendor shall describe how its proposed solution supports each of the following functional areas.
Responses should be concise, clearly organized, and limited to ten (10) pages. Responses may be
provided in narrative form or bullet points and should identify whether the described capabilities are
included in the base solution or offered as optional or separately licensed features.
3.5.1 LEGAL RESEARCH
A. Jurisdictional coverage of federal, state, and administrative legal authorities available
through the solution, including North Carolina-specific authority, historical authorities, and
jurisdiction-specific materials.
B. Availability of citator functionality to validate case law and statutes, including treatment
indicators, history, citing references, and features that assist users in assessing authority
reliability.
C. Availability of secondary sources included in the solution, such as treatises, practice
materials, legal periodicals, and other analytical resources, including any North Carolina-
focused secondary content.
D. Capabilities for improving research efficiency, accuracy, and validation, including search
tools, filters, alerts, research history, saved workspaces, and other user productivity
features.
E. Range of legal content and supplemental research resources included in the proposed
solution, such as dockets, briefs, secondary sources, practice materials, and other non-
primary research tools, with particular attention to North Carolina-related content.
3.5.2 DOCUMENT DRAFTING
A. Support for drafting legal documents, such as memoranda, briefs, pleadings, contracts,
and other legal work product, including integration of research content into the drafting
process.
B. Availability of drafting assistance tools, such as citation tools, templates, clause libraries,
contract playbooks, and other workflow features, including whether such tools are
integrated with the legal research platform or offered separately.
3.5.3 LITIGATION AND PRACTICE INTELLIGENCE
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A. Capabilities for analytics related to courts, judges, parties, counsel, dockets, and litigation
trends, including the types of insights available, jurisdictions covered, and how users
access and apply those insights in practice.
B. Support for litigation strategy, early case assessment, motion practice, practice-area
analysis, and other forms of legal decision support.
3.5.4 RESOURCE TOOLKITS AND PRACTICE GUIDES
A. Availability of curated practice resources, toolkits, guides, and subject-area materials
through the solution, including the legal subject areas they cover.
B. Availability of checklists, templates, forms, and practical guidance materials.
3.5.5 NEWS, ALERTS, AND MONITORING
A. Availability of legal news, current awareness, and alerting capabilities through the solution,
including how users can track topics, jurisdictions, and developments relevant to their
work.
B. Capabilities for monitoring developments related to cases, statutes, regulations, and legal
topics, including how alerts are configured, delivered, and managed.
3.5.6 PUBLIC RECORDS AND INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCH
A. Availability of public records, investigative research, and people and entity research tools
through the solution.
B. Scope of underlying data sources, jurisdictions, and intended use cases for these tools,
including any limitations on access, coverage, or licensing.
3.5.7 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A. Availability of AI-powered research tools through the solution, including support for natural
language querying, summarization of legal authorities, and identification of relevant cases,
statutes, regulations, and secondary sources.
B. Availability of generative AI or machine learning capabilities that support drafting,
document review, analysis, citation generation, and validation, including how those
capabilities are presented to users and how outputs are tied to underlying legal authority.
C. Safeguards for AI features, including governance controls, privacy protections, source
attribution, transparency, user verification options, confidentiality protections, retention or
training practices for user prompts and outputs, and controls intended to reduce inaccurate
or unsupported results.
3.5.8 ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
A. Availability of continuing legal education (CLE) content through the solution, including on-
demand and live programming, accreditation support, and any tracking or reporting
functionality.
B. Availability of additional research or professional resources not otherwise addressed
above.
C. Availability of additional value-added features or services that enhance the usefulness of
the platform for legal professionals (e.g., integrations, user support tools, access to
external datasets, training, etc.).
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