REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS CITY ATTORNEY RFQ-2024-2025-006

Solicitation ID:

1

Status:

Posted

Contact Name:

Natalia Witmer

Contact Number:

(210) 655-0022

Contact Email:

nwitmer@windcrest-tx.gov

Response Due Date:

6/12/2025

Response Due Time:

3:00 PM

Agency/Texas SmartBuy Member Number:

M0157

Posting Requirement:

14+ Days for Entire Solicitation Package

Solicitation Posting Date:

5/28/2025

Last Modified:

5/28/2025 2:04 am

Class/Item Code:

96149-Legal Services, Attorneys;

1. Introduction

TheCity of Windcrest (the “ City ” ) issoliciting sealed Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) from a highly qualifiedindividual or firm to provide professional legal services as City Attorney. TheCity Attorney will serve as the legal advisor for the Mayor, City Council, CityManager, boards, committees, the municipal prosecutor and various Citydepartments and will represent the City in all legal matters.

ThisRFQ invites legal professionals with expertise in municipal law, governmentoperations, and civil litigation to submit their qualifications to the City. Inorder to be considered, proposals must address each of the requests forinformation included in the attached document. In addition, informationregarding rates and fees must be submitted on the Proposed Fees sheet included inthis RFQ.

2.Scope of Services

Thescope of services for which fees and rates are requested include: General representation, special projects, litigation and municipal prosecutions. Theattorney will be required to provide detailed, itemized billing for eachcategory (including general representation), on a monthly basis.

A. General Representation

• Attendance at all City Council meetings, boards andcommissions. (Excluding the Windcrest Economic Development Corporation)

• Consultation with City Council and City staff viatelephone and email during normal business hours.

• Review and/or draft Ordinances, Resolutions, Charter Amendmentsand other documents in which the City has an interest or as required by statechanges or council request.

• Review and/or draft Contracts and other documentsprior to City Council action.

B. Special Projects

• Includes any unusually large projects defined as onethat will require 20 hours or more of attorney time to handle.

C. Counsel and Litigation

• Includes both pretrial and trial activities for alllitigation filed by or against the City which is not otherwise covered byinsurance or risk pool coverage.

D. Municipal Court

• Represent the State of Texas in municipal court ormake a recommendation for appointment of a prosecutor to the City Council tohandle municipal court prosecutions. The court is held at (time) on (numberof times) Tuesdaysof each month .

3.Qualifications

Theideal candidate (individual or firm) must possess the following qualifications:

• Experience : Minimum of 5 years of experience in municipal law,including advising local government entities, handling litigation, andproviding legal counsel to public officials.

• Education : Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited lawschool.

• Licensing : Active membership in good standing with the StateBar of Texas and eligibility to practice law in the state.

• Skills & Expertise :Proficiency in municipal law, governmental regulations, litigation, publicpolicy, and contract law. Experience in advising governing bodies and managinglegal risk for municipalities.

• Professionalism : Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, bothin writing and verbally, with elected officials, staff, and the public.

• Conflict of Interest : The selected CityAttorney must not have any conflicts of interest under state law or the City ofWindcrest code of ethics.

4.Submission Requirements

Interestedapplicants must submit the following labeled documents as attachments as partof their RFQ response:

• Attachement A : CoverLetter : A letter summarizing the applicant ’ sinterest in the position, availability, commitment, and approach to providinglegal services to the City of Windcrest .

• Attachment B: Statement of Qualifications : Detailedresponses to the questions in provided bullet point order listed under “5 Statementof Qualifications”

• AttachementC: Fee Schedule : A detailed fee structure, including hourly ratesand/or retainer fees for legal services. Complete the worksheet provided under“6. Fee Schedule”.

• Attachment D: Conflict of Interest

• Attachment E: Sworn Statements

5.Statement of Qualifications (Attachment B)

Please attach responses tothe following requests for information:

• Name of Attorney(s) and firm (if applicable) and yearorganized (include address and telephone number)

• Attach a list of Attorney(s) who will be involved withthe City. Include education, years of legal experience, years of municipalexperience, and any areas of particular skill or focus within the field ofmunicipal law.

• Provide a list of current, municipal or othergovernmental clients, a contact person for each, and a telephone number for thecontact person.

• If you or your firm has represented a City during thelast five years that it no longer serves as City attorney, please provide thefollowing information:

-Name of municipality

-Name of contact person, and

-Reason you no longer represent thatCity.

• Provide information regarding the number of municipalor related state or federal court cases actually tried to verdict or judgmentduring the past five years.

• Please list any clients that you or your firmcurrently represents that could cause a conflict of interest with yourresponsibilities with the City. Describe how you would be willing to resolvethese or any future conflicts of interest.

• If you or your firm has filed any litigation in thepast five years in which a municipality was a defendant, please describe thecase(s).

• Please provide a proof of a malpractice policy in anamount of $1 million aggregate and an agreement to keep in effect whilerepresenting the City.

• Please provide a list of grievances, if any, filedwith the State Bar against the attorneys providing services to the City.

• Please provide a list of any lawsuits filed againstyou and /or you and your firm that would be providing services to the City oragainst the law firm.

• Please provide a list of at least 3 professionalreferences, including contact information and a description of the attorney’swork with each reference.

• Identify who, or how, you will fulfill the City’s outlined “Scope ofServices”.

6. FeeSchedule (Attachment C)

The following rates areproposed for City Attorney Services to the City of Windcrest by:

__________________________________________________________________

1. GeneralRepresentation

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Retainer and Terms(optional): __________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Special Projects

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

3. Litigation

Pre-trial activities:

Title: _________________________Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________Rate:_________________________

Trial activities:

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

4.Municipal Court

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

Title:_________________________ Rate:_________________________

I,_____________________________________, certify that I have reviewed and fullyunderstand the City of Windcrest Request for Qualifications for City AttorneyServices. I further certify and swear that the information submitted inresponse to the Request for Qualifications is true, correct and fully shows allinformation required to be reported.

By:_________________________________________

7 . Selection Process

TheScoring and Evaluation Committee will review, score and make recommendations tothe Council. The City Council may invite selected candidates or firms for aninterview where respondents may be asked to make presentations of their staffand experience. Following the interviewprocess, the City will make a final selection based on the candidate ’ squalifications, experience, and proposed fee structure.

S chedule

Task	Date
Release RFQ	May 28, 2025
Questions Due	June 4, 2025
Question Responses Issued	June 6, 2025
RFQ Closing Date	June 12, 2025, 3PM CST
Scoring & Evaluation Committee Review	June 13 – July 4, 2025
City Council Meeting: Interviews	July 7, 2025
Regular City Council Meeting - Appointment of City Attorney/Firm	July 7-21, 2025

Scoring Rubric

· -Overall Experience 25%

· -Past experience 25%

· -Strength of keypersonnel 20%

· -Firm staffing toMunicipal client ratio 20%

· -References 5%

Evaluation Criteria

· Experience in municipal law, government operations, and civil litigation

· Past experience with municipal governments

· Staff to Municipal Client ratio

· Strength of key personnel

· References

· Competitive fee schedule

The extent to which theoverall response meets or is likely to meet the City’s objectives.

Selection Process

Responses will be reviewedand evaluated by the City for responsiveness to this RFQ.

• The City may select one or more entities to invite tobe interviewed, which will involve a presentation of the response andintroduction to key staff. Additionalquestions regarding specific responses may be asked at this time. Interviewswill factor in the overall qualitative evaluation of responses. While the City places priority on aquality-based selection, the proposed fee schedule may also factor inevaluation and selection.

• Based upon all of the evaluation criteria andinterview, the City may select a preferred attorney or firm. The City reservesthe right to negotiate with selected respondents to further refine theresponses.

• If the City is unable to reach agreement with itspreferred attorney or firm, the City may enter into negotiations with theattorney or firm whose response was deemed to be next most advantageous to theCity.

8.Submission Deadline

Two (2) copies, plus one electronic copy, of all proposals should beclearly marked: “ RFQ2024-2025-006 , CITYATTORNEY SEARCH – WINDCREST, TX " on the outside of the mailing envelope, addressed to:

City of Windcrest, Texas

Windcrest City Hall

Finance Department

8601 Midcrown Dr.

Windcrest, Texas 78239

Responses will be accepted until 3:00 p.m. on ThursdayJune 12, 2025.

Electronic Submission via email: Email subjectheading shall read “ RFQ2024-2025-006 CITYATTORNEY SEARCH – WINDCREST, TX” sentto purchasing@windcrest-tx.gov .Responses will be accepted until 3:00 p.m. on Thursday June 12, 2025, andmust include a fee schedule. Fee schedules should be transmitted as a separateattachment from the narrative response, and titled “ City Attorney Search - Fee Proposal.”

Sealed responses will be received by the City of Windcrest, Texas, atthe office of The Finance Department, Windcrest City Hall, 8601 Midcrown Dr.,Windcrest, Texas 78239, until 3:00 PM on Thursday June 12, 2025, atwhich time responses duly delivered and submitted will be opened then andthere, and the name of each respondent will be publicly read aloud.

Any response received after the stated closing time will be returnedunopened. If responses are sent by mailto the Finance Department, the respondent shall be responsible for actualdelivery of the response before the advertised date and hour for opening ofresponses. If mail is delayed by the postal service, courier service, aninternet service provider, or in the internal mail system of the City beyondthe date and hour set for the response opening, responses thus delayed will notbe considered and will be returned unopened.

Information concerning response specifications and responseprocess/procedures may be obtained by e-mailing the City ’ sFinance Director at purchasing@windcrest-tx.gov. Questions may also besubmitted by mail to Attn: Finance Department, Windcrest City Hall, 8601Midcrown Dr., Windcrest, Texas 78239 or by submitting the question to theadministrative desk at the same address. All questions shall be submitted, inwriting, by 3:00 PM CST on June 4, 2025. Answers, interpretations, orclarifications considered necessary by the City in response to such questionswill be issued by addenda and posted online or otherwise delivered to allparties recorded by the City as having received the RFQ. Questions receivedafter the deadline will not be answered. Only questions answered by a formalwritten addendum will be binding. No oral and other interpretations orclarification will be considered official or binding.

Until the final award by the City, the City reserves the right to rejectany and/or all responses, to waive technicalities, to re-advertise, and toproceed otherwise when the best interests of said City will be realized hereby. Responses will be submitted sealed andplainly marked with the date and time of opening.

The City of Windcrest City Hall is wheelchair accessible. For accommodation or sign interpretiveservices needed for response openings, please contact the Finance Office 48hours in advance at (210) 655-0022 ext. 2820.

9. Reservation of Rights

The City reserves the right to request additionalinformation as part of this selection process. The City also reserves the right to reject any or all submissions, towaive technical or legal deficiencies, to proceed or not with any response orprocess, and to negotiate such terms and conditions of any response or contractthat may be in the best interest of the City. The City reserves the right to terminate or amend this process at anytime.

10.Disclaimers

• The City reserves the right to reject any or allresponses to this RFQ.

• The City is not responsible for any costs associatedwith preparing or submitting qualifications.

• This RFQ is not a contract or offer of employment anddoes not obligate the City to hire any particular candidate.

• Itis the responsibility of the vendor to check for addenda. Addenda will beposted to the City ’ s website.

Uponselection, it is anticipated that the City and the Attorney or Firm selectedwill enter into an initial retention agreement thatharmonizes with the City’s fiscal year and is subject to the informationcontained in the RFQ and the proposal.

Contract documents will include a sworn statement, thisRFQ, and the response. Upon receipt, allresponses become the property of the City. In general, materials submitted in response to this RFQ will becomepublic records, subject to disclosure.