Questions and Answers for RFP 15JPSS25R00000033.docx

Questions and Answers for Solicitation Number 15JPSS25R00000033 U.S. Trustee Program

1. Is this contract subject to the prompt payment act (payment within 30 days of invoicing) and if not, when is payment to be made? This contract is subject to the prompt payment act.

2. Is this effort considered a new requirement? If not, can the Government provide the incumbent contractor's name, contract number and contract value and what year they are performing of their contract plus options? BEHMKE REPORTING AND VIDEO SERVICES, INC.; Task Order Number GS-07F-0376W 15JUST23F00000011; Ceiling Amount $4,675,000.00. The contractor is in year 2 of 5 however this action is recompeted to start in June.

3. Can you advise how many depositions were held that a transcript was not requested to be transcribed for same in the last 12 months? We do not track these statistics.

4. Can you advise how many depositions were also ordered videotaped in the last 12 months? 17

5. Does a bidder need to include the Offeror's Representations and Certifications (FAR 52.212-3) if this has already been done on sam.gov? Yes. If so, do you want the entirety of the clause, including definitions, included? Yes. Can you confirm these pages are not counted against the page totals allowed for responses? These pages do not count against the page totals allowed for responses.

6. Is there a minimum and maximum order amount on this contract, and if so, what are they? The maximum amount will be the ceiling value of the contract. There is no minimum amount, calls will be placed as needed for deposition services, the maximum value is the ceiling amount of $4,125,000.00 for a base plus 4 option years.

7. The Past Performance Questionnaire is cut off on the left side and the first word of every item is missing. Can you provide a new and complete copy of that document? Yes.

8. CLIN 0008 (etc.) is for “LegalView Remote Video Stream.” Are you aware that LegalView is the name of a proprietary software product created by and only for the use of Lexitas Court Reporting, Inc. – a large court reporting firm and a direct competitor of every bidder hereto? It is not available to us to purchase or to use and is patented by Lexitas. This is a similar product to Zoom or Webex or Microsoft Teams, which we are able to provide. Can this CLIN be changed to “Video Conferencing Platform” to be accurate and attainable and equitable? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

9. Further to question 8 above, upon information and belief LegalView is not FedRAMP authorized nor USTP approved, which is required under this contract in Item 18.1, whereas the other platforms are. Can you confirm that you do require a FedRAMP certified or USTP approved remote video platform under this contract? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

10. Further to number 8 above, CLIN 0011 (etc.) also refers to “LegalView” – can this be changed as well? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

11. CLIN 0013 (etc.) is for “Online Video Storage.” Are there security requirements (Like NIST FIPS 140-2 ) and how long should the videos be maintained online? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

12. CLIN 0016 (etc.) is for “Online Transcript and Exhibit Storage.” Are there security requirements (Like NIST FIPS 140-2 ) and how long should the transcripts and exhibits be maintained online? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

13. CLIN 0017 (etc.) is for “Archive Processing Fee” – can you elaborate what this is for? Fee for archiving transcript data.

14. CLIN 0018 (etc.) is for “Shipping/Delivery” and the unit is “C5” – can you explain what C5 means? COST.

15. CLIN 0021 (etc.) is for conference rooms “Worldwide.” This seems overly broad and burdensome to expect a bidder to lock in a rate to secure conference rooms anywhere on the planet with no indication of how often this would be required based on historical information for the last five years or to at least provide historical locations for the last five years. Can you please provide this information to enable bidders to create a somewhat factually-based bid to limit our being out-of-pocket in certain locations? There were less than 5 international sessions in recent years. This CLIN unit is COST. See response #14.

16. Further to question 15 above, Can you separate this requirement into three separate CLINS to cover one CLIN for the USA, one CLIN for Europe and one CLIN for Asia – and advise how often does this occur in each of these locations in the last five years? No, because the CLIN unit is COST. See response #14. Less than 5 sessions in Europe.

17. Further to questions 15 and 16 above, are you aware that countries such as Germany, Switzerland and France require that depositions take place only at the Embassy or Consulate? Additionally, booking a conference room at a European embassy for a deposition typically involves a non-refundable scheduling fee (around $1,283 per day) and a statutory fee for consular officer time during the deposition ($309 per hour). There may also be a notarial fee for the deposition closing certificate. As you can see, were a bidder to bid something like $500 per day for a conference room for a deposition in Kansas, they would be woefully out of pocket for any depositions taken in Germany, Switzerland and France. Therefore, I respectfully request that this CLIN be eliminated entirely and dealt with on an as-needed basis with approval required in advance from the COR prior to each occurrence? To do otherwise would be unduly burdensome to any contractor and would require them to bid at least $3,446.00 per day for ALL conference rooms to ensure they are not out of pocket for depositions in locations that require them to be at an embassy. Additionally, the attorneys or trustees are much better equipped to merely create a stipulation with their opposing counsel to either allow remote depositions for these locations, or to otherwise work out an equitable location provided by opposing counsel, saving the government considerable money. See response to #15 and #16.

18. CLIN 0004 (etc.) is for “Overnight Order - Original Transcript & One Copy” and CLIN 0022 is for “Expedited Final Transcripts - Next Day” – how do these differ? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

19. CLIN 0025 (etc.) is “Technician is requested to be present for a proceeding (in-person onsite)”. Can you advise what type of technician this is? What would they be assisting with on-site? What training or certification is required for this individual and what level of security clearance? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

20. The scope of work calls for “audio transcription services” but there is no CLIN for this. Will this be added? See CLIN 0016 or 0017.

21. For “audio transcription Proceedings” can you explain what type of proceedings these are (i.e. depositions, 911 call recordings, telephone calls, etc.) and what services you would require for them (i.e. transcription, translation from other languages, etc.). Audio only transcription services for digital interview or meeting recordings.

22. The scope of work calls for “remote court appearance services” and there is no CLIN for this. Will this be added? See CLIN 0027.

23. Further to question 22 above, can advise what type of proceeding are “remote court appearances”? Is this for hearings, trials, arbitrations, etc. and who or what is the appearance meant to cover? The court reporter/Videographer/Technician or all? Appearance services provided in remote depositions or examinations.

24. Further to questions 20, 21, 22 and 23 above – will a CLIN be added for the per page rates for the reporter and/or per hour rates for the videographer or technician for audio transcription services and/or “remote court appearance services”? See CLIN 0008 or 0023. See response to #20 for audio transcription and response #22 for remote services.

25. The scope of work calls for “remote legal collaboration services.” Can you define what this is? The collaborative effort with the vendor to facilitate and complete the entire deposition/examination process.

26. Further to question 25 above, there is currently no CLIN for remote “legal collaboration services.” Will one be added? See response #25.

27. Item 1.4 is for “Court Reporting Services for Remote (Virtual) Proceedings” and contains this language: “The Contractor shall provide all necessary technology (e.g., Zoom for Government or other USTP-approved video-conferencing platform), including Wi-Fi hotspots, to conduct remote (virtual) court reporting services and audio transcription proceedings.

A. Regarding the Wi-Fi hotspots, can you elaborate on exactly who we would be providing Wi-Fi hotspots to and in what locations? (i.e. would we be responsible for providing a Wi-Fi hotspot to a witness in their home or office anywhere in the USA or in the world who does not have Internet access)? Court reporters must have their own Wi-Fi connections.

B. Will there be a CLIN added for providing Wi-Fi hotspots or would the contractor be required to provide this on a pro bono basis? No.

C. Can you provide historical data for the number of times that Wi-Fi hotspots has been provided under the previous contract? No.

28. In the Statement of Work, section 1.8 it states “Contractor on-staff attorney is preferred but not required.” As stated, this is preferred not required.

A. Can you explain what legal services an on-staff attorney would provide to the contractor or to the US Trustees?

B. Can you explain why an on-staff attorney is preferred as opposed to an outside attorney retained by the contractor?

29. Item 9 of the SOW is: “Artificial Intelligence Solutions” and states: “As USTP explores implementation options for artificial intelligence (AI) and anticipates future needs in this area, vendors are encouraged to offer FedRAMP-authorized AI solutions to meet these needs, such as deposition summaries, outlines, and visualizations created using AI…” Regarding deposition summaries and outlines: are you aware that this is a task that is specific to a legal team representing one party in furtherance of their litigation against the other party? In other words, this is work properly performed by a paralegal or an attorney that is retained by one particular party in furtherance of their case against the other. In that regard, it would be a complete conflict of interest for a court reporting firm to provide this service to one party to a litigation, as the court reporting firm is required to maintain complete impartiality and to never take the part of one party over another. Were a court reporting firm to engage in these services, or even provide the software for these services, it would void the certification of every transcript that they handled the court reporting for that they also engaged in this work for. I respectfully request you remove this from the SOW to be in compliance with the law and best practices of the court reporting profession. As stated, this is encouraged not required.

30. Further to item 29 above, if this is not removed from the SOW can you explain what exactly a “deposition visualization” is? The representation of deposition information on a chart. See response #29.

31. Further to 29 and 30 above, if you do include this in the SOW will you be adding a CLIN for this, or is this supposed to be a free service provided by the contractor? (Which would still be a conflict of interest and may even be construed as pro bono legal services being provided to one party above another – which would add another level of conflict). See response #29.

32. Item 11 of the SOW is for “Hours and Service” and states: “If the Contractor is required to attend proceedings outside of normal hours (Saturdays, Sundays, Federal Holidays or from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, local time), the USTP will pay the Contractor the expedited transcript rate for the pages transcribed outside of normal hours.” Can you advise which “expedited rate” would be paid? Would this be the rates set forth for in CLIN 0003 or 0004 or 0005, etc.? See CLIN 0002 or 0017.

33. Further to question 32 above, Item 11 of the SOW is for “Hours of Service” and states: “Proceedings are normally held between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday …” However, in most jurisdictions in the USA and almost every jurisdiction abroad, the regular hours of service are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM for court reporting, and a court reporter and videographer and technician will charge “after hours fees” for any proceeding commencing prior to 9:00 AM or continuing after 5:00 PM. Can you confirm that the hours prior to 9:00 AM and after 5:00 PM would be entitled to be billed at the “after hours expedited rate” to be in confirmation with the current best practices and norm of the profession so that the contractor will not be out of pocket to the court reporter, videographer and technician who are entitled to these after hour rates and in many jurisdictions are required by law to receive same? Yes

34. Item 12 is “Sale of Transcript Copies” and states: “The Contractor may provide copies of transcripts securely to parties of the proceeding at the requester’s expense …” Can you confirm that the US Trustees Board does not forward their copies of the proceedings to any adversary in the case, or otherwise provide “free” copies to opposing counsel or opposing parties? Yes

35. The RFP has conflicting information about what types of security clearances court reporters, videographers and technicians may need under this contract. Can you confirm that a NACI or T1 equivalent is not required for court reporters, videographers and technicians under this contract, or if it is required only for certain types of individuals, proceedings or locations – and if so, which individuals, types or locations those are? Background investigations are not required for this contract.

36. For RealTime Transcription will the attorneys be providing their own laptops or would you expect the contractor to provide them? The contractor is not expected to provide laptops.

37. Further to questions 11 and 12 above, will online storage be required for all transcripts, exhibits and videos or only specifically requested ones? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

38. Further to question 13 above, is an “archive processing fee” billed for every assignment or only those specifically requested to be archived? Every assignment

39. Can you provide an estimate as to the percentage of proceedings that were held remotely versus in-person for the last 12 months? 60% of our proceedings were remote this FY.

40. Would you consider adding a CLIN to differentiate between the appearance fee for an in-person proceeding versus a remote proceeding for each of court reporters and videographers? In the court reporting industry it is the norm for these individuals to require a higher appearance fee to attend in-person proceedings. By only having one CLIN that applies to both in-person and remote proceedings you would be requiring bidders to bid the higher rate of the two, which would not be the best rate for the government for remote depositions. See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

41. If the answer to bidders’ questions are not able to be provided by the government at least one week prior to the due date of the bids, would you extend the due date of the responses to ensure bidders have at least one week to create or edit their responses after the answers have been posted?

42. Would a compliance matrix count towards the technical proposal page count? No.

43. Understood that these are private proceedings, and that transcript copies may only be provided with permission of the POC. How many transcript copies were sold during the last award period?

44. Historically, where have proceedings taken place? How many proceedings were held in each location? Nationwide in 90+ field office locations. Approximately 500 proceedings per year with more than half of requests in Eastern and Central time zones.

45. What percentage of this work is virtual? Approximately 60%.

46. Typically, how much notice is provided when scheduling services? We do not track these statistics. It varies.

47. Is there any incumbent/recompete or is this a brand-new project? If yes, could you please provide us with their award number or even if the customer bought similar services in the past. See response #2.

48. Will this be awarded to a single contractor or multiple contractors? A single contractor.

49. Does the United States Trustee Program already have one or more incumbent contractors performing these services? If so, what is the existing contract number for each vendor and current pricing? See response #2. We cannot disclose their pricing.

50. What is the historical monthly (or annual) volume of proceedings over the last three years? Approximately 40-50 proceedings monthly, with an estimated annual total of over 500.

a. What has been the historical breakdown for depositions versus examinations? Approximately 50% of each.

b. What has been the historical breakdown of ‘In-person’ vs. ‘Remote’ proceeding over the last three years? Is this ratio anticipated to continue? See response #45. It is expected to continue.

c. What has been the historical volume of proceedings by State or by US Trustee Region over the last three years? See response #44.

51. LiveView, listed in the “Schedule Of Supplies/Services,” is a proprietary program of a court reporting agency. Can you confirm that the government will accept a substitute and change the “Schedule of Supplies/Services” descriptions? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

a. The SOW indicates “Zoom for Government” or similar platform will be sufficient. Are there features of the LiveView platform that is critical to the Government? See updated Schedule of Services for new CLINs.

52. Found in the “Schedule Of Supplies/Services,” can you explain what a “C5” is in the Unit of Measure Column? COST.

53. For each item number that does not include a unit of measure, should the bidder add a unit of measure? No.

54. Historically, how often has the Government requested transcripts to not be written up? See response #3.

55. Would the individual court reporters, transcribers, proofreaders, and scopists (“Court Reporter Team” be considered “litigative consultants”? Background investigations are not required for this contract.

a. This would allow the Court Reporter Team to be exempt from the Background Investigative processes if alternative security requirements are approved by DSO.

b. This would lower the Department’s costs in performing unnecessary PTI for individuals on Court Reporter Team who might only be used occasionally in a particular geographic region.

c. This would avoid deposition and hearing delays while the Court Reporter Team is awaiting the pre-employment waiver.

56. Regarding the solicitation, can you confirm the due date? Offer due date is listed on the solicitation as 4/2/2025 but the questionnaire appears to have a 4/16 due date, and SAM lists it as 4/21/2025. Offers are due on 4/21/2025. Past performance questionnaires are due on 4/16/2025.