BD3-0042 Govt Contracts Reporter JnA Redacted.pdf

Brand Name/Sole Source Justification under $250K

PID Number:

Department: Office of Counsel OOL

Company Name/Brand: Wolters Kluwer

Description of Product, Supplies or Services required to meet the agency’s needs:

Wolters Kluwer (WK) Commercial Clearing House (CCH) Law is a research tool that provides, within an integrated and seamless platform, critical information, analysis, news, cases, and legislation on a variety of legal topics such as government contract law and government fiscal law.

Identification of Justification Rationale:

☐ The Material or service must be compatible with aspects (Form, Fit, and Function) with existing systems presently installed.

☒ A patent, copyright, proprietary data, or licensing agreement limits competition.

☐ These are “direct replacement(s)” parts/components for existing equipment.

☐ Urgency.

Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) IAW FAR 6.303-2(b)(4).

NSWC PHD’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) requires specific integrated and seamless research tools and platforms in order to provide up-to-date, complete, and accurate advice on a variety of legal issues and topics. While some research platforms currently in use at NSWC PHD’s OGC provide some integrated and seamless research, these platforms are driven by attorney-directed searches and are not organized by subject matter. Therefore, current research platforms require “pre-research” to ensure proper terms are included within the search bar to receive accurate and relevant results.

WK’s CCH research tool or platform, on the other hand, organizes complex legal topics by subject matter and publishes a digest of the various holdings analyzed and organized. NSWC PHD’s OGC therefore uses this platform to conduct “pre-research” on a variety of issues.

Furthermore, using WK’s CCH research tool, NSWC PHD’s OGC is able to more quickly research, analyze, and develop a response to critical client legal questions.

Specific Characteristics of the Item or Service required that Limit the Availability to a Sole Source or Brand Name: **This is the most important section. Explain in detail why this company or brand are the only ones that can meet the requirement.

WK’s CCH has been maintaining their contracts database for decades. When relevant cases are published in the various government contracts fora (Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals

(ASBCA), Government Accountability Office (GAO), Article 3 courts). No other legal brand or company provides a similar research platform where cases are analyzed and organized by subject matter with relevant digests. This intellectual property is subject to copy write. Only this company can publish this material in this required manner. WK does not have any third party resellers.

Market Research Conducted: The Navy Office of General counsel continually monitors the availability of legal research tools. Westlaw, Nexus and WK have been the 3 companies historically providing services in this area. Startup costs are prohibitive so companies do not enter this market place with any frequency. Navy OGC reports out available resources if they become available. In addition, me and my colleagues receive continuous communications from our state bars which provide, inter alia, news relevant to the legal field. If a new legal research tool became available it would be published in bar journals. I have interviewed my colleagues and searched the Navy OGC website. WK remains the only company which provides a database of contract common law that is organized by subject matter.

Statement of Actions, if any to Remove Barriers to Competition in the Future:

NSWC PHD Contracts Office will continue to conduct market research as warranted to provide a broader vendor base as applicable for the types of supplies/services covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, NSWC PHD will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION (FAR 6.303-2(c))

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification and its supporting acquisition planning data, except as noted herein, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Technical Cognizance:

HAUGHTELIN.CRAIG.DWAIN.1156

643080

Digitally signed by

HAUGHTELIN.CRAIG.DWAIN.1156643080

Date: 2025.02.10 12:04:32 -08'00'

Signature Name (Print) and Title (Code) Phone No. Date

Legal Counsel:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

SURANE.JULIANNE.MARIE.15228877

Digitally signed by

SURANE.JULIANNE.MARIE.1522887796

Date: 2025.02.10 12:06:27 -08'00'

Legal Office:

Assistant Counsel Phone No. 805-228-8520 Date

Contracting Officer:

I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Signature:

Arthur Wynn, Contracting Officer , Code 027, 805-330-0370