Request for Qualifications/Proposal for Legal Services for the Public Cable Television Authority

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS/PROPOSAL FOR LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE PUBLIC CABLE TELEVISION AUTHORITY

September 24, 2019

INQUIRIES AND QUALIFICATIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:
JOHN M. BORACK
GENERAL MANAGER, PUBLIC CABLE TELEVISION AUTHORITY
10200 SLATER AVE.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA 92708
714.968.2024
jborack@pcta.tv

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

A. Purpose. This request for qualifications (RFQ) is to contract for legal services to be provided to the Public Cable Television Authority (PCTA), a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) serving the cities of Fountain Valley, Stanton and Westminster, CA.

B. Who May Respond. Only attorneys who are currently licensed to practice law in the State of California and who maintain an office within Orange County, CA or law firms including such attorneys may respond to the RFQ.

C. Instructions on Qualifications Submission.

1. Closing Submission Date. Qualifications must be submitted no later than 5:00 PM PST on Friday, October 18, 2019.

2. Conditions of Qualifications. All costs incurred in the preparation of a qualifications responding to this RFQ will be the responsibility of the Offeror and will not be reimbursed by PCTA.

3. Instructions to Prospective Contractors. Your qualifications should be sent to the above address either via email or snail mail.

4. Right to Reject. PCTA reserves the right to reject any and all qualifications received in
response to this RFQ. A contract for the accepted qualifications will be drafted based upon the
factors described in the RFQ.

5. Notification of Award. It is expected that a decision selecting the successful Firm or Attorney will be made within sixty (60) days of the closing date for the receipt of qualifications.

II. SCOPE OF SERVICES

Under the proposed agreement, Counsel will provide the following on a fixed hourly rate schedule and a retainer schedule:

1. Provides legal advice, counsel, services and consultation to PCTA Board of Directors and staff, including but not limited to: items relating to cable industry law, telecommunications law, and cable television franchising.

2. Answers requests for legal opinions, in writing and verbally. Prepares written legal opinions at
the request of the PCTA Board of Directors and staff. Availability to answer staff or Board questions by telephone or email.

3. May appear before courts and administrative agencies to represent PCTA’s interests.

4. Reviews contracts, leases, Intergovernmental Agreements, resolutions, ordinances,
and other legal documents for correctness and acceptability.

5. Reviews and redrafts various PCTA policies for legal correctness and acceptability. By way of example, this would include, but not be limited to: Personnel Policies, Family Medical Leave, etc.

6. Reviews monthly PCTA Board meeting agendas.

7. Attends monthly PCTA Board meetings as necessary (generally 1-2 hours per meeting).

8. Performs other legal services and tasks as requested.

III. GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

The following provisions shall also apply:

1. Timeliness of response and accessibility to PCTA Board of Directors and staff is an important aspect of this service. Accessibility includes the ability to be generally available to attend meetings in person and the ability to be reached promptly by telephone or e-mail.

2. The service provider shall disclose possible conflicts of interests. By way of example but not
limited to, those governmental agencies that currently are represented by the provider that are
currently or in the future may conduct business with PCTA.

3. The service provider shall provide detailed itemized statements on a monthly basis for services rendered. It shall be the service provider’s responsibility to ensure that each itemized statement is accurate in its detail.

IV. QUALIFICATIONS SUBMISSION

1. Qualifications received after the deadline will not be accepted. It is the responder’s
responsibility to assure that the qualifications are received in a timely manner.

2. Interested attorneys or firms shall submit a billable hourly rate for legal services. The price shall include all labor, material, and equipment necessary for the performance of this contract.

3. PCTA expects all submitting attorneys and firms to consent to the Scope of Services and
General Specifications. Exceptions desired must be clearly noted in the qualifications submittal.

4. PCTA reserves the right to reject any and all qualifications, to waive irregularities and
informalities, to request additional information from all respondents, and further reserves the
right to select the qualifications which furthers the best interests of the organization.

V. QUALIFICATION CONTENTS

The Offeror, in its qualifications, shall at a minimum include the following:

1. Legal Experience. The Offeror should describe its legal experience, including the names,
addresses and telephone numbers of at least three (3) clients, preferably including clients
similar to PCTA. Experience should include the following categories:

A. Experience advising local governments in the areas of cable industry law, telecommunications law, and cable television franchising.

B. Experience working with Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs) preferred.

2. Organization, Size, Structure, and Areas of Practice. If the Offeror is a firm, it should describe its organization, size, structure, areas of practice and office locations.

3. Attorney Qualifications. The Offeror should have a minimum of five years’ experience in the
following areas: local government, cable industry law, telecommunications law, cable television franchising and general business operations. The Offeror should describe the qualifications of attorneys to be assigned to the representations. Descriptions should include:

A. Professional and educational background of each attorney

B. Overall supervision to be exercised

C. Prior experience of the individual attorneys with respect to the required experience
listed above. Only include resumes 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. Price. The Offeror’s proposed price should include information on the hourly billing rates of
each attorney or other legal staff who are expected to work on this representation and charges
for expenses, if any, such as legal research copies and faxes. Also include a billable hour rate
that would be charged to advise on routine matters that could be handled over the phone or email without extensive research or other legal work. PCTA reserves the right to negotiate
with the Offeror on the structure of the billing and/or retainer fee.

5. Evaluation Procedure and Criteria. The PCTA Board will review qualifications and make recommendations to staff for final approval.