1-Final 26-341-8010-00003 RFI CLS.pdf

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

Department of Finance and Administration Local Government Division

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003

Civil Legal Services

Release Date: March 23, 2026

Due Date: April 1, 2026

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services.

NOTICE: This is not a Request for Proposals. A contract will not be awarded as a result of this RFI.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) B. Background C. Scope of Work and Objectives

1. Scope

2. Objectives

D. RFI Point of Contact

II. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE RFI

A. Sequence of Events B. Explanation of Events

1. Release of RFI

2. Response Deadline

C. General Requirements

1. No Obligation

2. Governing Law

3. Clarifications

4. Response Preparation Cost

5. Use of Information

6. Eligibility to Participate in Subsequent Procurement

7. Ownership of Materials

8. Acceptance

III. RESPONSE FORMAT AND ORGANIZATION

A. Number of Responses B. Number of Copies C. Response Format

IV. REQUIREMENTS

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services.

I. INTRODUCTION

The New Mexico Civil Legal Services Commission (“Commission”) and the Department of Finance and Administration (“Procuring Agency”) will be soliciting sealed proposals to establish one or more contracts throughout the state of New Mexico through the competitive process to provide high quality civil legal services to eligible low-income persons in New Mexico.

The goal of the effort is to increase and coordinate statewide access to high quality civil legal services for eligible low-income persons in New Mexico through direct and technology-based contact.

A. Purpose of this Request for Information (RFI)

The purpose of this RFI is to solicit and gather information to help the Procuring Agency determine how best to procure civil legal services for the purposes outlined above and developing the subsequent Request for Proposal (RFP).

The Procuring Agency recognizes that almost all the funding awarded via the RFP process will be used for attorney and support staff salaries to support the civil legal services that will be requested in the RFP. To that end, this RFI is requesting relevant information specific to salaries and salary practice to entities that provide civil legal services to eligible low-income persons in New Mexico.

The RFI Point of Contact (identified in Section I.D. below) may follow up with any written responses to clarify or solicit additional information. Please feel free to share this RFI with anyone you believe may be interested in participating.

B. Background

Meaningful access to the civil legal system is a basic tenet of our system of justice. Evidence collected by the Access to Justice Commission (ATJ) demonstrates that across the State legal aid providers are unable to serve approximately two applicants for every applicant they do serve. The unmet legal need in New Mexico is even greater than in other states because of our relatively high rate of poverty. Over 40% of New Mexicans qualify for legal aid at 200% of the federal poverty guideline.

Recognizing the unmet legal needs of New Mexico’s low-income population, the New Mexico Legislature 1) created the Civil Legal Services Fund; 2) created the Civil Legal Services Commission which is authorized to establish rules and procedures for the Fund, solicit proposals

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services.

for the provision of civil legal services, and enter into contracts with eligible providers; and 3) designated the Agency as the administrator of the Fund and staff to the Commission.

C. Scope of Work and Objectives

1. Scope

The scope of this RFI is to understand the salary practices and rates of pay of civil legal service providers for eligible low-income persons in New Mexico.

2. Objectives

The responses and information collected during this RFI will help the Procuring Agency in the following areas in creating the RFP:

- Determine civil legal service providers’ methodologies for establishing salaries in their workforce in relation to their employees’ experience and certifications;

- Determine the civil legal service providers’ methodologies for establishing and managing sick pay, vacation pay and other non-work pay categories;

- Determine the expenses that civil legal service providers spent in calendar year 2025.

- Determine the civil legal service providers’ organization structures;

D. RFI Point of Contact

The Procuring Agency has designated the following Points of Contact who are responsible for the conduct of this RFI whose names, addresses, and telephone numbers are listed below:

Point of Contact Sandra Ortega Office address: Department of Finance and Administration Local Government Division

407 Galisteo St. RM 304 Office Phone#: (505) 469-2228 Email Address: sandray.ortega@dfa.nm.gov

E. Terminology

“Request for Information” (RFI): Document used for soliciting information or recommendations to the marketplace through a structured, defined, non-binding inquiry process generally leading to an industry meeting to determine available solutions where the specific goods and services are not known or pre-determined.

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services.

“Request for Proposals” (RFP) means all documents, including those attached or incorporated by reference, used for soliciting proposals.

II. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE RFI

A. Sequence of Events

The primary RFI Point of Contact will make every effort to adhere to the schedule, below.

However, dates and times may be modified, depending upon the questions and responses received.

Action Responsible Party Due Dates

1. Issue RFI Procuring Agency March 23, 2026

2. Submission of Response Respondents April 1, 2026

3. Industry Meeting Procuring

Agency/Respondents April 7, 2026

B. Explanation of Events

1. Release of RFI

This RFI is being issued on the date indicated in the Sequence of Events, above, by the Division.

2. Response Deadline

Responses are due by 5:00 PM MST on the date indicated in the Sequence of Events, above.

3. Industry Meeting If the Procuring Agency deems a virtual/in-person Industry Meeting appropriate, it will be held at 2:00 PM MST on the date indicated in the Sequence of Events, above. All Respondents to the RFI will be sent an agenda of discussion topics and a meeting link.

C. General Requirements

Submission of a response to this RFI constitutes acceptance of, and consent to, the following General Requirements:

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services.

1. No Obligation

This RFI in no manner obligates the Procuring Agency to issue a resulting RFP, or to the eventual rental, license, lease or purchase of any services or equipment that may be described, implied, or proposed in the Respondents response to this RFI.

2. Governing Law

This RFI and any subsequent RFP that may be issued by the Procuring Agency shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico.

3. Clarifications

All requests for clarifications must be directed to the RFI Point of Contact identified in Section I.D.

4. Response Preparation Cost

Any cost incurred by the respondent in the preparation, transmittal or presentation of any response or material submitted in response to this RFI will be borne solely by the respondent.

5. Use of Information

The Procuring Agency reserves all rights available to it by law. If an RFP or other type of solicitation results from this RFI, respondents to this RFI are hereby notified that all information, documentation, and any specific content or approaches included in RFI responses will be analyzed, may appear in various reports and may be used in the resulting solicitation. Therefore, do not submit any proprietary or confidential information. The Procuring Agency cannot guarantee the confidentiality of the information submitted.

6. Eligibility to Participate in Subsequent Procurement

If the Procuring Agency decides to issue an RFP or other form of solicitation, those parties who choose to respond to this RFI, as well as those parties who choose not to respond to this RFI, will be eligible to participate in that procurement.

7. Ownership of Materials

Ownership of all data, material, and documentation originated and submitted to the Procuring Agency, pursuant to the RFI, shall belong exclusively to the Procuring Agency and be subject to public inspection in accordance with the New Mexico Open Records Act.

No documents will be returned once submitted to the Procuring Agency.

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services.

8. Acceptance

The State of New Mexico reserves the right to reject responses that arrive late, or do not meet all of the specified requirements.

III. RESPONSE FORMAT AND ORGANIZATION

A. Number of Responses

Respondents may submit multiple responses to this RFI. Respondents should submit electronic responses.

ALL RESPONSES ARE DUE BY THE 5:00 PM MST ON THE DATE INDICATED IN

SECTION II.A, SEQUENCE OF EVENT

Electronic responses may be e-mailed as an attachment to the RFI Point of Contact identified in Section I.D.

Where possible, it is the Procuring Agency’s preference to receive Respondents’ responses in an editable format (such as an editable .pdf file).

When submitting your response, clearly identify your response in the subject line

Subject: RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services

B. Number of Copies

Respondents need only provide one (1) electronic copy.

C. Response Format

The Respondent’s response to this RFI should be organized in the following format:

1. Response to RFI Requirements according to the questions in Section IV.A.1. using the Questionnaire in Appendix A. Respondents may enter data in the editable ,pdf file or may enter the requested information by hand on the Questionnaire.

2. Other Supporting Materials/Documentation

a. Respondents may attach other materials that they believe may improve the quality of their responses.

b. Any Supporting Materials/Documentation that do not seamlessly integrate into the Respondents response to the questions should be attached at the end of the response.

RFI# 26-341-8010-00003 Civil Legal Services.

IV. REQUIREMENTS

A. General Responses Requested

Respondents are requested to respond to any and/or all the questions in Attachment 1- Questionnaire, in narrative form. Additional supporting information may be provided as attachments and may be referenced from the narrative response as appropriate. Respondents are invited to provide additional information as they deem appropriate. We recognize that Respondents may have different areas of expertise and interests, so it is not necessary to respond to each item.

Please identify by letter, each requested response you are addressing, and restate the question preceding your response.

D. RFI Point of Contact