70-92400-26-CP327_Rahn & DeFillippo LLC Sole Source Determination.pdf.PDF

2026 Sole Source Form

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

SOLE SOURCE REQUEST AND DETERMINATION FORM

A sole source determination is not effective until the sole source request for determination has been posted for thirty (30) calendar days without Protest and subsequently approved in writing by the State Purchasing Agent. The foregoing requirement is regardless of whether the sole source request for determination has been signed by the Agency.

I. Name of Agency:

New Mexico Public Education Department

Agency Chief Procurement Officer:

Ann Lucero

Telephone Number & Email Address:

(505) 469-9893; ann.lucero@ped.nm.gov

Agency Contact for this request:

Miguel Lozan, Deputy General Counsel

Telephone Number & Email Address:

(505)309-2438; miguel.lozano@ped.nm.gov

II. Name of prospective Contractor:

Rahn & DeFillippo LLC

SHARE Vendor Number (must be active): 0000189777

Address of prospective Contractor:

Taylor S. Rahn

6801 Jefferson St. NE, Suite 401C

Albuquerque, NM 87109

Contact Name, Telephone Number and Email Address:

Taylor S. Rahn; (505) 573-9380; taylor@rahndefillippo.com

Amount of prospective contract before tax:

Amending to increase funds by $200,000.00 (including tax) for Existing Contract

Estimated tax amount (tax is subject to change): $14,169.57

The total amount payable of the prospective Contract and all Amendments, including gross receipts tax and expenses, shall not exceed

$364,326.25.

Docusign Envelope ID: A421EF78-59A5-8813-808D-98851B036D35

III. Term of prospective contract:

Upon Sole Source Execution through June 30, 2027

Note: Please refer to §13-1-150 for contract term limits.

If this is an amendment request to an existing contract, include current sole source posting number issued by SPD: 60-92400-26-CP014

IV. Agency is required to provide the detailed scope of work (or amendment) for this sole source.

Scope of work must match the scope included in the services determination and Horizons declination.

The Contractor shall perform the following work: Provide litigation, discovery coordination, and related legal work for litigation filed against the State of New Mexico and PED, including Yazzie v. NM and Martinez v. NM.

V. Provide a detailed explanation of the criteria developed and specified by the agency as necessary to perform and/or fulfill the contract and upon which the state agency reviewed available sources. (Do not use “technical jargon;” use plain English. Do not tailor the criteria simply to exclude other contractors if it is not rationally related to the purpose of the contract.)

The attorney and partner of the Contractor serves as sole legal counsel for the department in two complex matters currently pending litigation. The litigation is currently pending in State District Court. The PED seeks award this contract on a sole-source basis not through the application of any particular criteria to potential contractors, but because the legal matters in which this attorney represents the department are not yet complete.

VI. Provide a detailed, sufficient explanation of the reasons, qualifications, proprietary rights or unique capabilities of the prospective contractor that makes their company the only source capable of providing the required professional service, general service, construction or item(s) of tangible personal property. (Please do not state the source is the “best” source or the “least costly” source. Those factors do not justify a “sole source.”)

As described above, the Contractor is the only source capable of providing the required professional service because the service for which the lead attorney was initially hired is not yet complete. The attorney has expended significant time and resources on the litigation and is uniquely positioned to see it through to completion in their newly established law firm. It is also in the States’s best interest to keep the same legal counsel for this litigation. The cost of bringing a different attorney or law firm up to speed is prohibitive.

VII. Provide a detailed, sufficient explanation of how the professional service, general service, construction or item(s) of tangible personal property is/are unique and how this uniqueness is substantially related to the intended purpose of the contract.

As described above, no other legal service provider occupies the unique position of the legal service provider who has handled this litigation on the State’s behalf following post-judgement proceedings. At this point, the cost to the State of bringing in different attorney or law firm to complete the litigation would be prohibitive.

VIII. Provide a narrative description of the agency’s due diligence in determining the basis for the procurement, including procedures used by the agency to conduct a review of available sources such as researching trade publications, industry newsletters and the internet;;

contacting similar service providers; and reviewing the State Purchasing Divisions’

Statewide Price Agreements. Include a list of businesses contacted (do not state that no other businesses were contacted), date of contact, method of contact (telephone, mail, e-mail, other), and documentation demonstrating an explanation of why those businesses could not or would not, under any circumstances, perform the contract; or an explanation of why the agency has determined that no businesses other than the prospective contractor can perform the contract.

Though this item specifically directs that “no other business were contracted” is an insufficient response, the PED cannot contact any other law firm in an effort to solicit bids to complete long-standing, complex litigation. As described above, the contractor is uniquely positioned to continue the litigation, and the cost to the State of hiring a different contractor is prohibitive.

Agency certifies this sole source submission complies with NMSA 1978, Sections 13-1-28 through 13-1-199, the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) and Governmental Conduct

Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 10-16-1 through 10-16-18.

Certified by: Date:____________________

Agency Chief Procurement Officer

Certifying Legal Sufficiency by: Date: ____________________

Agency Legal/General Counsel

Agency Approval by: Date: ____________________

Cabinet Secretary/Agency or Entity Head or Designee

APPROVED: Date:____________________

State Purchasing Agent

If this sole source is being submitted by a governmental agency or governmental entity not under the authority of the State Purchasing Agent, the State Purchasing Agent’s signature is not required. The signature line may be removed from this form or marked as N/A. Hard Copy

Documentation for Courtesy Postings do not need to be submitted to SPD for approval.

Docusign Envelope ID: A421EF78-59A5-8813-808D-98851B036D35

7/27/2026

7/27/2026

7/30/2026

I. Name of Agency: