Combined Synopsis_Solicitation.doc

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

For Private Counsel Debt Collection – Central District of California

1. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

2. The solicitation is being issued as a request for proposals (RFP); the solicitation number is 15JPSS25R00000080.

3. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-04, effective 06/11/2025.

4. This is a total small business set-aside. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541110, Offices of Lawyers with a small business size standard of $15.5 million.

5. Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) Overview:

The offeror shall provide price proposals based on the line items shown below.

*** See attachment for detailed CLIN descriptions.

6. The objective of this procurement is to contract with law firms and/or solo practitioners of law to support the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The private counsel (Contractor) shall furnish all legal services, including representation in negotiation, compromise, settlement, and litigation, to collect delinquent debts owed to the United States. Such services include the collection and litigation of unsecured Federal debts and participation in bankruptcy, foreclosure, and other ancillary proceedings as may be required. The Contractor may undertake collection of delinquent non-tax civil debts referred to the Department of Justice (Department or DOJ) for collection from Federal agencies, or that may originate from litigation at the Department or other DOJ components. All of the work to be performed under the contract must be performed within the counties that comprise the United States Federal Judicial Districts, and all litigation to collect secured and unsecured debts must be brought in the United States District Court in the same judicial district in which the debtor is located, unless the case is a foreclosure and the United States Attorney’s Office determines in consultation with the Contractor that it is more efficient for foreclosure matters to be filed in state or local courts. A detailed description of the specifications is included in the attached Statement of Work.

At this time, the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Central District of California has 3,283 cases that are referred to private counsel. The following provides information as it relates to the number of cases:

· 3,283 or 100% of the cases are unsecured.

· (2,752) student loan default, (241) (HEAL), (185) other claims related to federal assistance programs, (37) recovery of overpayments made by the government, (24) (NHSC), (19) commercial litigation, (17) civil penalty, four (4) costs/debt surcharge, two (2) civil – clerk’s filing fee / 28 U.S.C. 2412(A)(2), one (1) bankruptcy – all other, and one (1) bankruptcy – chapter 13.

· The USAO Assistant United States Attorneys are the primary attorneys on all bankruptcy matters.

· 92% of the cases are post-judgment.

· Total:

· Sum of current balance amount is $167,096,435.63.

7. The Government anticipates it will award up to three (3) contracts as a result of this solicitation and competition. The period of performance of the contract(s) is a total duration of five (5) years, commencing on November 1, 2025. The Government may extend the contract for up to six (6) months under FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services.

8. The provision at FAR clause 52.212-1, Instruction to Offerors – Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition, along with its addendum.

Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Products and Commercial Services

The following provisions are incorporated into 52.212-1 as an addendum to this solicitation:

System for Award Management (SAM) Registration The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR Subpart 4.11) requires that offerors be registered in the SAM at the time an offer is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certification requirements. Failure to being registered in the SAM at the time of your proposal submission in accordance with FAR 52.204-7 will result in rejection of your proposal. Detailed information about SAM is available online at https://sam.gov.

Mandatory Eligibility Requirements Only law firms or solo practitioners of law will be considered eligible for award. To meet the pass rating criteria herein, all attorneys proposed to represent the U.S. in federal and state courts under this contract must provide current (within one (1) year) proof of admission to the bar, and proof of good standing, in the state of the federal judicial district. In addition, attorneys who will appear before the Federal District Court must provide proof of current admission or currently pending admission to the Federal District Court. The above does not apply for an attorney authorized to appear pro hac vice in the Federal District Court. If admission to the Federal District Court is pending, the Government will accept a copy of a written, dated request for admission provided the date of the request is on or before the RFP closing date and the offeror supplies the admission document before award. Proposals not meeting these requirements will be deemed noncompliant and will not be evaluated any further and/or considered for award.

There is no requirement that offerors maintain an office in the district. However, if the offeror does not maintain an office in the district, the offeror must include a statement setting forth specifically how cases will be handled from a remote location and must include a statement certifying that travel expenses are not authorized, regardless of the number of trips, and that subcontracting is not authorized unless consent is granted in accordance with the Subcontracting Restriction.

Instructions for Proposal Submission

a. Download the files entitled “Technical Proposal Template”, “Past Performance Proposal Template”, and “Price Proposal Template” associated with this solicitation.

b. Fill in all required information in sufficient detail to demonstrate your experience and qualifications for this work and to convey your proposed rates and fees. Incomplete submissions may result in rejection of your offer.

c. Save the template proposal files with a new name, such as “ABC Company Technical Proposal”, “ABC Company Past Performance Proposal”, and “ABC Company Price Proposal”. Please have the subject line of the e-mail read, “RFP No. 15JPSS25R00000080, Private Counsel Debt Collection – Central District of California”.

d. The technical proposal shall be organized according to the following general outline (combined into one (1) PDF file):

Part A – Cover Page

Part B – Proposal Checklist

Part C – Business Data

Part D – Offeror Representations and Certifications

Part E – Administrative Information

Part F – Debt Collection Experience

Part G – Attorney Qualifications

Part H – Administrative Office Attributes

Part I – Supporting Data

(i) Signed acknowledgement of amendments (SF30). Applicable only if any amendments are issued against this solicitation.

(ii) Resumes. Current resumes must be provided for all attorneys that are proposed to work under this contact, if awarded. Note any existing security clearances in the resumes.

(iii) Letters of Commitment. If any of the individuals proposed are not presently employees of the offering firm, their resumes must be accompanied by a signed letter of commitment to join the offering firm in the event of contract award to the offeror. An employment commitment letter is provided as a sample. Refer to the file entitled, “Sample Employment Commitment Letter”.

(iv) State Certificates of Good Standing. Provide a copy of an official, current (i.e., within one (1) year from the RFP issue date) certificate of good standing issued by the licensing authority of the state evidencing that each named attorney, is currently in good standing. Internet printouts from the state’s website showing good standing or “active” status of the named attorney will also be accepted.

(v) District Court Certificates of Good Standing. Provide a copy of an official, current (i.e., within one (1) year from the RFP issue date) certificate or pending certificate issued by the Federal District Court evidencing that each named attorney, is in good standing in the Federal District Court. If admission to the Federal District Court is pending, a copy of a written, dated request for admission provided the date of the request is on or before the RFP closing date is acceptable; however, you must supply the required proof to the Contracting Officer, prior to award. Internet printouts from the district court’s website showing good standing or “active” status of the named attorney will also be accepted.

(vi) Writing Samples. Writing sample(s) of work done by the Lead Attorney is preferred. Writing samples must clearly demonstrate your legal writing and analytical skills, i.e., statutes or case law should be included. Writing samples should include one or more documents filed in (preferably, federal) court (i.e., motions, briefs, etc.) to the extent that they demonstrate that you can perform work that is comparable or related to the work required under this solicitation. Thus, for example, a brief regarding an intellectual property matter is not the best choice. Redact any information such as the client’s name or identifying characteristics to protect privilege. Writing samples should be recent (i.e., no older than three (3) years from the RFP issue date). A page limit of ten (10) pages applies to the writing samples collectively, without any gaps in content. At a minimum, the writing sample(s) shall not have more than five (5) grammatical and/or mechanical errors (e.g., incorrect usage of word and/or piece of punctuation in writing).

e. Past Performance Questionnaires. Refer to the file entitled, “Past Performance Questionnaire”. The offeror shall complete the relevant section and submit the past performance questionnaires to its three (3) client references (i.e., the entity(ies) for which the work was performed under contract). The client references shall submit the completed past performance questionnaires directly to christina.murray@usdoj.gov no later than September 24, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

f. Email the technical proposal, the past performance proposal, and the price proposal directly to christina.murray@usdoj.gov no later than September 24, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET. No price information shall be included in the technical proposal or past performance proposal. The Government will accept emailed proposals only. Offerors are cautioned against sending offers in the last 10-15 minutes before the deadline, as potential transmission errors and/or the discovery thereof could prevent delivery until after the closing time, thereby making your proposal late. Late proposals will not be accepted.

g. Offerors are also cautioned not to discuss the preparation of their proposal or technical questions pertaining to this solicitation with Government technical personnel. The circumstances of such a contact, when verified, may result in non-consideration of the offeror's proposal. Discussions with Government technical personnel concerning the specifications, the documents incorporated by reference, cost and pricing, or any other technical matters are strictly forbidden. Accordingly, all communications prior to award shall be directed to christina.murray@usdoj.gov.

Instructions for Calculating Fixed Prices Firm-fixed unit prices must be all inclusive. For example, do not offer one price for some of the work and another price to complete all work. Do NOT offer prices based on contingencies such as being reimbursed expenses which are not shown as being authorized for reimbursement. Do NOT offer different prices such as one amount for an attorney to collect unsecured debt and another amount for an attorney to collect secured debt, etc. It is important to offer prices exactly as indicated and for all required work. If you are not certain of what activities are to be factored into any given line item, it is your responsibility to submit that question via electronic mail in sufficient time to permit the Government to respond and you to incorporate that response into your proposal strategy.

Failure to follow this instruction may cause your proposal to be rejected. Asterisks, notes or other markings which may be construed as taking exceptions to the requirements of the solicitation may cause your proposal to be rejected.

JAR 2852.233-70 Protests Filed Directly with the Department of Justice (Nov 2020)

(a) The following definitions apply in this provision:

(1) “Agency Protest Official” (APO) means the Deciding Official for a procurement protest filed with a contracting activity of DOJ when the contracting officer will not be the Deciding Official because of the protestor's election under JAR 2833.103(b)

(2) “Deciding Official” means the official who will review and decide a procurement protest filed with the agency. The Deciding Official will be the contracting officer unless the protestor requests pursuant to JAR 2833.103(b) that the protest be decided by an individual above the level of the contracting officer, in which case the HCA will designate an APO to serve as the Deciding Official.

(3) “Interested Party” means an actual or prospective offeror whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of a contract or by the failure to award a contract.

(b) Only interested parties may file a protest.

(c) An interested party filing a protest with the DOJ has the choice of requesting either that the Contracting Officer or the APO decide the protest.

(d) A protest filed directly with the DOJ shall:

(1) Indicate that it is a protest to DOJ.

(2) Be filed with the Contracting Officer.

(3) State whether the protestor chooses to have the Contracting Officer, or the Agency Protest Official decide the protest. If the protestor is silent on this matter, the Contracting Officer will decide the protest.

(4) Indicate whether the protestor prefers to make an oral or written presentation of arguments in support of the protest to the deciding official.

(5) Include the information required by FAR 33.103(d)(2):

(i) Name, address, facsimile number, and telephone number of the protestor.

(ii) Solicitation or contract number.

(iii) Detailed statement of the legal and factual grounds for the protest, to include a description of resulting prejudice to the protestor.

(iv) Copies of relevant documents.

(v) Request for a ruling by the agency.

(vi) Statement as to the form of relief requested.

(vii) All information establishing that the protestor is an interested party for the purpose of filing a protest.

(viii) All information establishing the timeliness of the protest.

(e) The decision by the APO is an alternative to a decision by the Contracting Officer. The APO will not consider appeals from the Contracting Officer's decision on an agency protest and a decision by the APO is final and not appealable.

(f) The Deciding Official may conduct a scheduling conference. The scheduling conference, if conducted, will establish deadlines for oral or written arguments in support of the agency protest and for agency officials to present information in response to the protest issues. The deciding official may hear oral arguments in support of the agency protest at the same time as the scheduling conference, depending on availability of the necessary parties.

(g) Oral conferences may take place either by telephone or in person.

(h) The protestor has only one opportunity to support or explain the substance of its protest. DOJ procedures do not provide for any discovery. The deciding official may request additional information from the agency or the protestor. The deciding official will resolve the protest through informal presentations or meetings to the maximum extent practicable.

(i) A protestor may represent itself or be represented by legal counsel. The DOJ will not reimburse the protester for any legal fees related to the agency protest.

(j) The DOJ will stay award or suspend contract performance in accordance with FAR 33.103(f), unless the contract award is justified, in writing, for urgent and compelling reasons or is determined, in writing, to be in the best interest of the Government. The justification or determination shall be approved at a level above the Contracting Officer. The stay or suspension, unless over-ridden, remains in effect until the protest is decided, dismissed, or withdrawn.

(k) The deciding official will make a best effort to issue a decision on the protest within thirty-five (35) days after the filing date. The decision shall be written, and provided to the protestor using a method that provides for evidence of receipt.

(l) The DOJ may dismiss or stay proceedings on an agency protest if a protest on the same or similar basis is filed with a forum outside DOJ.

[End of Provision] JAR 2852.203-70 General Non-Disclosure Agreement (Aug 2016)

The provisions of this Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by existing statute or Executive Order relating to (1) classified information, (2) communications to Congress, (3) the reporting to an Inspector General of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or (4) any other whistleblower protection. The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by controlling Executive Orders and statutory provisions are incorporated into this agreement and are controlling.

[End of Provision] JAR 2852.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions, Commercial Items (FAR Deviation) (Nov 2020) When a commercial item is contemplated (using FAR part 12 procedures or otherwise) and the contract will include FAR 52.212-4, the following replaces subparagraph (g)(2); paragraph (h); subparagraph (i)(2); paragraph (s); and paragraph (u), Unauthorized Obligations, of the basic FAR clause, and adds paragraph (w), as follows:

(g)(2) Invoices will be handled in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act (31 U.S.C. 3903) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prompt payment act regulations at 5 CFR part 1315, as modified by subparagraph (i)(2), Prompt payment, of this clause.

(h) Patent indemnity. Contractor shall indemnify and hold harmless the Government and its respective affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, successors and assigns (collectively, “Indemnities”) from and against any and all liability and losses incurred by the Indemnities that are (i) included in any settlement and/or (ii) awarded by a court of competent jurisdiction arising from or in connection with any third party claim of infringement made against Indemnities asserting that any product or service supplied under this contract constitutes infringement of any patent, copyright, trademark, service mark, trade name or other proprietary or intellectual right. This indemnity shall not apply unless Contractor shall have been informed within a reasonable time by the Government of the claim or action alleging such infringement and shall have been given such opportunity as is afforded by applicable laws, rules, or regulations to participate in its defense. This indemnity also shall not apply to any claim unreasonably settled by the Government which obligates Contractor to make any admission or pay any amount without written consent signed by an authorized officer of Contractor, unless required by final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(i)(2) Prompt payment. The Government will make payment in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act (31 U.S.C. 3903) and prompt payment regulations (5 CFR part 1315), with the following modification regarding the due date: For the sole purpose of computing an interest penalty due the Contractor, the Government agrees to inspect and determine the acceptability of any supply delivered or service performed specified in the invoice within thirty (30) days of receipt of a proper invoice from the Contractor, after which time, if no affirmative action has been taken by the Government to accept such supply or service, the supply or service will be deemed accepted and payment due thirty (30) days from the date of deemed acceptance. If the Government makes the determination that the item delivered or service performed is deficient or otherwise unacceptable, or the invoice is otherwise determined not to be a proper invoice, the terms, and conditions of this paragraph regarding prompt payment will apply to the date the Contractor corrects the deficiency in the item delivered or service performed or submits a proper invoice. If actual acceptance occurs within the constructive acceptance period, the Government will base the determination of an interest penalty on the actual date of acceptance. The constructive acceptance requirement does not, however, compel Government officials to accept supplies or services, perform contract administration functions, or make payment prior to fulfilling their responsibilities.

(s) Order of precedence. Any inconsistencies in this solicitation or contract shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order:

(1) The schedule of supplies/services.

(2) The Assignments, Payments, Invoice, Other Compliances, and Compliance with Laws Unique to Government Contracts provisions of the basic FAR clause at 52.212-4, and the Unauthorized Obligations and Contractor's Commercial Supplier Agreements - Unenforceable Clauses provisions of JAR 2852.212-4.

(3) FAR 52.212-5.

(4) Other paragraphs of the basic FAR clause at 52.212-4, with the exception of paragraph (o), Warranty, and those paragraphs identified in this deviation of 52.212-4.

(5) Addenda to this solicitation, contract, or order, including contractor's Commercial supplier agreements incorporated into the contract.

(6) Solicitation provisions if this is a solicitation.

(7) Paragraph (o), Warranty, of the basic FAR clause at 52.212-4.

(8) The Standard Form 1449.

(9) Other documents, exhibits, and attachments.

(10) The specification.

(u) Unauthorized obligations.

(1) Except as stated in paragraph (u)(2) of this clause, when any supply or service acquired under this contract or order is subject to any Commercial supplier agreement that includes any language, provision, or clause requiring the Government to indemnify the Contractor or any person or entity for damages, costs, fees, or any other loss or liability that would create an Anti-Deficiency Act violation (see 31 U.S.C. 1341), the following shall govern:

(i) Any such language, provision, or clause is unenforceable against the Government.

(ii) Neither the Government nor any Government authorized end user shall be deemed to have agreed to such clause by virtue of it appearing in the commercial supplier agreement. If the commercial supplier agreement is invoked through an “I agree” click box or other similar mechanism (e.g., “click-wrap” or “browse-wrap” agreements), execution does not bind the Government or any Government authorized end user to such clause.

(iii) Any such language, provision, or clause is deemed to be stricken from the commercial supplier agreement and have no effect.

(2) Paragraph (u)(1) of this clause does not apply to indemnification by the Government that is expressly authorized by statute and specifically authorized under applicable agency regulations and procedures.

(w) Commercial supplier agreements - unenforceable clauses. When any supply or service acquired under this contract or order is subject to a contractor's commercial supplier agreement, the following shall be deemed incorporated into such agreement and modifies and replaces any similar language, provision, or clause in such agreement. As used herein, “this agreement” means any contractor commercial supplier agreement:

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement, when the end user is an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. Government, the following shall apply:

(i) Applicability. This agreement is a part of a contract between commercial supplier and the U.S. Government for the acquisition of the supply or service that necessitates a license or other similar legal instrument (including all contracts, task orders, and delivery orders under FAR part 12).

(ii) End user. This agreement shall bind the Government as end user but shall not operate to bind the Government employee or person acting on behalf of the Government in his or her personal capacity.

(iii) Law and disputes. This agreement is governed by Federal law.

(A) Any language, provision, or clause purporting to subject the U.S. Government to the laws of any U.S. state, territory, district, or municipality, or the laws of a foreign nation, except where Federal law expressly provides for the application of such laws, is hereby deleted, and shall have no effect.

(B) Any language, provision, or clause requiring dispute resolution in a specific forum or venue that is different from that prescribed by applicable Federal law is hereby deleted and shall have no effect.

(C) Any language, provision, or clause prescribing a different time period for bringing an action than that prescribed by applicable Federal law in relation to a dispute is hereby deleted and shall have no effect.

(iv) Continued performance. Notwithstanding any other provision in this agreement, if the Contractor believes the Government to be in breach of this contract, order, or agreement, it shall pursue its rights under the Contract Disputes Act or other applicable Federal statute while continuing performance as set forth in subparagraph (d), Disputes, of FAR 52.212-4.

(v) Arbitration; equitable or injunctive relief. In the event of a claim or dispute arising under or relating to the contract, order, or this agreement,

(A) binding arbitration shall not be used unless otherwise specifically authorized by agency guidance, and (B) equitable or injunctive relief, including the award of attorney fees, costs or interest, may be awarded against the Government only when explicitly provided by statute.

(vi) Updating terms.

(A) After award, the contractor may unilaterally revise terms if they are not material. Material terms are defined as:

(1) Terms that change Government rights or obligations;

(2) Terms that increase Government prices;

(3) Terms that decrease the overall level of service; or

(4) Terms that limit any other Government right addressed elsewhere in this contract.

(B) For revisions that materially change the terms of the contract, the revised commercial supplier agreement must be incorporated into the contract using a bilateral modification.

(C) Any agreement terms or conditions unilaterally revised subsequent to award that are inconsistent with any material term or provisions of this contract shall not be enforceable against the Government, and the Government shall not be deemed to have consented to them.

(vii) Order of precedence. Any Order of Precedence clause in any commercial supplier agreement is not enforceable against the Government. The applicable Order of Precedence for this contract, order, or agreement is FAR 52.212-4(s), as revised by JAR 2812.302 and 2852.212-4(s).

(viii) No automatic renewals. If any license or service tied to period payment is provided under this agreement (e.g., annual software maintenance or annual lease term), such license or service shall not renew automatically upon expiration of its current term without prior express consent by a properly warranted contracting officer, and any provision or term of any license or service purporting to provide for automatic renewal is unenforceable against the Government.

(ix) Indemnification by the Government or end-user. Any language, provision, or clause of this commercial supplier agreement requiring the Government or End-user to indemnify the commercial supplier or licensor is not enforceable against the Government.

(x) Indemnification by the commercial supplier or licensor. Any clause of this agreement requiring or permitting the commercial supplier or licensor to defend the Government as a condition of indemnifying the Government for any claim of infringement is hereby amended to provide that the U.S. Department of Justice has the sole right to represent the United States in any such action, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 516.

(xi) Audits. Any language, provision, or clause of this commercial supplier agreement permitting Contractor to audit the end user's compliance with this agreement is not enforceable against the Government. To the extent any language, provision or clause of this agreement permits Contractor to audit the Government's compliance under this contract, order, or agreement, such language, provision, or clause of this agreement is hereby stricken and replaced as follows:

“(A) If Contractor reasonably believes that the Government has violated the terms of this agreement with regard to the restrictions on authorized use and/or the number of authorized users, upon written request from Contractor, including an explanation of the basis for the request, DOJ will provide a redacted version of the Government's most recent Security Assessment and Authorization package (SAA) to Contractor on a confidential basis, so that Contractor may reasonably verify the Government's compliance with its obligations under this agreement. Contractor understands and agrees that the Government will remove or redact any information from the SAA that it reasonably believes may compromise (a) the security of the Government's information technology environment; (b) the confidentiality of any third-party proprietary or confidential information; (c) any confidential, sensitive law enforcement information; and (d) any other information that the Government believes may compromise a past, current, or prospective investigation, prosecution, or litigation. Notwithstanding the preceding, and subject to the Government's policies and procedures for such review, including but not limited to complying with all Government security requirements prior to being granted access to the Government's facilities, including the execution of appropriate confidentiality and/or non-disclosure agreements, the Government will arrange, upon Contractor's written request, for Contractor to view an un-redacted version of the SAA on Government premises. Contractor understands that Contractor will be provided a copy of the un-redacted SAA on Government premises only and that no un-redacted copy of the SAA, or any medium containing information relating to it, will be permitted to be removed from Government premises.

(B) The Contractor also understands and agrees that the Contractor shall make a request under this paragraph no more than on an annual basis and only during the period of the contract, and that any activities performed by Contractor under this clause will be performed at Contractor's expense, without reimbursement by the Government.

(C) Discrepancies found with regard to the restrictions on authorized use and/or the number of authorized users may result in a charge by Contractor to the Government. Any resulting invoice must comply with the proper invoicing and payment requirements specified in the contract. This charge, if disputed by the Government, will be resolved through the Disputes clause at 52.212-4(d); no payment obligation shall arise on the part of the Government until the conclusion of the dispute process.”

(xii) Taxes or surcharges. Any taxes or surcharges which the Contractor seeks to pass along to the Government as end user will be governed by the terms of the underlying Government contract and, in any event, must be submitted to the Contracting Officer for a determination of applicability prior to invoicing unless specifically agreed to otherwise in the Government contract.

(xiii) Non-assignment. This agreement may not be assigned, nor may any rights or obligations thereunder be delegated, without the Government's prior approval, except as expressly permitted under FAR 52.212-4 (b), Assignment.

(xiv) Confidential information.

(A) During the term of this contract or order, either party may identify information as “confidential information,” and there shall be no disclosure, dissemination, or publication of any such information except to the extent required for the performance of this contract or order and otherwise provided in this clause or by statute or regulation. Specifically, the parties agree that the party receiving confidential information may only disclose such information to its employees and contractors on a “need-to-know” basis to carry out the obligations of this contract or order, and that subcontractors performing under this Agreement are subject to the same stipulations provided in this provision. The parties also agree that this provision shall survive the termination of this contract or order, and any confidential information obtained or received which comes within these restrictions shall remain confidential, provided that the obligation to treat information as confidential shall not apply to information which is or becomes publicly available through no improper action of the receiving party; is or comes to be in the receiving party's possession independent of its relationship with the disclosing party; is developed by or becomes known to the receiving party without use of any confidential information of the disclosing party; or is obtained rightfully from a third party not bound by an obligation of confidentiality. Additionally, nothing in this contract or order shall restrict disclosure by the receiving party pursuant to any applicable law, including but not limited to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, et seq., or an order of any court of competent jurisdiction, provided that in either such case the receiving party gives prompt notice to the disclosing party to allow the disclosing party to interpose an objection to such disclosure, take action to assure confidential handling of the confidential information, or take such other action as it deems appropriate to protect its confidential information.

(B) The Government considers and hereby identifies as confidential any and all information related to any inquiries and/or searches performed by the Government or by contractor at the Government's direction under this contract or order, including the subject of any such inquiry or search and any and all search terms, regardless of whether provided in writing or orally to Contractor, and Contractor agrees that it may only disclose such information to its employees and contractors on a “need-to-know” basis to carry out the obligations of this contract or order and that it will not share, reveal, divulge, disclose, disseminate, or publicize any such information to any third party except as provided in this provision without the prior written approval of the Contracting Officer. Contractor also understands and agrees that any subcontractors performing under this contract or order are subject to the same stipulations and that Contractor may be held responsible for any violations of confidentiality by a subcontractor.

(C) These provisions are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter an employee's obligations, rights, or liabilities created by existing statute or Executive order relating to (1) classified information, (2) communications to Congress, (3) the reporting to an Inspector General of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or (4) any other whistleblower protection. The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by Executive orders and statutory provisions relating to whistleblower protection are incorporated into this contract and are controlling.

(D) The Government may share the terms, conditions and prices set forth in this Order with, and provide a copy of the Order to, other Executive branch agencies of the U.S. Government, provided that the Government shall ensure that other Executive branch agencies to which it provides such information will be required to treat all such information consistent with terms and conditions set forth in this Order.

(E) Notwithstanding anything in this agreement, the Government may retain any confidential information as required by law, regulation, or its internal document retention procedures for legal, regulatory, or compliance purposes; provided, however, that all such retained confidential information will continue to be subject to the confidentiality obligations of this Order.

(xv) Authorized users. Authorized users may include full and part-time employees of the Government, including those working at or from remote locations, and contractors and contractor employees working within the scope of their contract with the Government, including those at or from remote locations.

(xvi) Authorized use. Authorized users are authorized to use the product or service acquired under this contract in performing business on behalf of the Government. Any information obtained or acquired by the Government under this contract may be used by the Government in the performance of Government business.

(2) If any language, provision, or clause of this agreement conflicts or is inconsistent with the preceding paragraph (w)(1), the language, provisions, or clause of paragraph (w)(1) shall prevail to the extent of such inconsistency.

[End of Provision]

[End of Addendum to FAR 52.212-1]

9. The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition, along with its addendum.

Addendum to FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Products and Commercial Services

The following provisions are incorporated into 52.212-2 as an addendum to this solicitation:

Basis of Award

It is determined that the acquisition is a commercial service in accordance with FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services. Therefore, since this requirement is a commercial service, it shall be competed by use of FAR Subpart 13.5, Simplified Acquisition Procedures for Certain Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

Evaluation Criteria The Government intends to use a two-phased approach to evaluate offers.

Phase One – Go/No-Go Requirements Offers will be evaluated based on a Pass/Fail rating for the requirements below. Offerors must receive a “Pass” rating under the Go/No-Go Requirements to be eligible for award and advance to the next phase in the proposal evaluation process. The Pass/Fail rating criteria is as follows:

All attorneys proposed to represent the U.S. in federal and state courts under this contract must provide current (within one (1) year) proof of admission to the bar, and proof of good standing, in the state of the federal judicial district. In addition, attorneys who will appear before the Federal District Court must provide proof of current admission or currently pending admission to the Federal District Court. The above does not apply for an attorney authorized to appear pro hac vice in the Federal District Court. If admission to the Federal District Court is pending, the Government will accept a copy of a written, dated request for admission provided the date of the request is on or before the RFP closing date and the offeror supplies the admission document before award.

Note: Failure to being registered in the SAM at the time of your proposal submission in accordance with FAR 52.204-7 will result in rejection of your proposal. Therefore, the Government reserves the right to not evaluate an offer further if the offeror is not registered in the SAM at the time of RFP closing.

Proposals not meeting these requirements will receive a “Fail” rating and will not be considered for award.

Phase Two – Evaluation Factors A tradeoff process shall be used for this acquisition because it has been determined to be in the best interest of the Government to consider award to other than the lowest priced offeror or other than the highest technically rated offeror.

The Government will award a contract resulting from the solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government’s evaluation will be based on the following factors and subfactors:

Factor 1: Technical

Subfactor A: Debt Collection Experience

Subfactor B: Administrative Office Attributes

Subfactor C: Quality of Writing

Factor 2: Past Performance

Factor 3: Price The non-price factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. However, price would increase in importance as the technical proposals become close to equal, and that price may be the deciding factor between highly rated proposals.

The Government will select the offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government, considering both price and non-price factors. The Government intends to evaluate proposals and award a contract without discussions and negotiations with offerors. Therefore, the offeror’s initial offer should contain the offeror’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions and negotiations if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

Relative Importance: Among the evaluation factors considered in the best value decision, Technical, Past Performance and Price are listed in descending order of importance with Factor 1 (Technical) being most important, Factor 2 (Past Performance) next in importance and Factor 3 (Price) is last in importance. Within the Technical Factor, the subfactors are listed in descending order of importance with Subfactor A (Debt Collection Experience) being most important, Subfactor B (Administrative Office Attributes) next in importance and Subfactor C (Quality of Writing) is last in importance.

(1) Factor 1: Technical

(a) Subfactor A: Debt Collection Experience The Government will evaluate the extent to which the offeror has sufficient relevant experience in drafting and filing complaints for money judgments and enforcing collections for unsecured debt. The Government will also evaluate the extent to which the offeror has sufficient relevant experience in drafting and filing complaints and obtaining judgments for creditors on secured debt in particular foreclosures and representing creditors in bankruptcy.

(b) Subfactor B: Administrative Office Attributes

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s administrative office processes to include: case management; capability to access IT systems to manage and update litigation and debt records; invoicing regularly; and responding to DOJ inquiries in the performance of the contract. The Government will also evaluate the offeror’s ability to handle an increase in the volume of cases assigned.

(c) Subfactor C: Quality of Writing The Government will evaluate the writing sample(s) of the offeror’s proposed attorney(s) to the extent that it demonstrates their legal writing and analytical skills. The writing sample(s) shall not have more than a total of five (5) grammatical and/or mechanical errors (e.g., incorrect usage of word and/or piece of punctuation in writing).

(2) Factor 2: Past Performance Past performance will be evaluated to assess confidence the Government has in an offeror’s ability to perform the requirements identified in the solicitation successfully based on recent and relevant past performance information. More recent and more relevant performance usually has a greater impact in the confidence assessment than less recent and less relevant performance.

For purposes of this evaluation, recency is defined as current or completed efforts performed within the past three (3) years from the closing date of this solicitation.

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s past performance information to determine how relevant a recent effort accomplished by the offeror is to this solicitation. Relevance is defined as performance being considered having a logical connection to the work described in the solicitation. In determining relevance, consideration will be given to such aspects as the scope of work, service similarity, etc.

The following relevancy criteria apply and will be assigned to each effort identified in the offeror’s proposal:

Past Performance Relevancy Ratings

Performance Confidence Assessment: As a result of the recency, relevancy, and quality assessments of the efforts evaluated, the past performance factor will receive an adjectival rating as follows:

Performance Confidence Assessments

Offerors without a record of past performance or for whom information is so sparse that no adjectival rating can be reasonably assigned will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance and, as a result, will receive a neutral rating. A strong record of relevant past performance may be considered more advantageous to the Government than a neutral rating.

(3) Factor 3: Price

The Government will perform a price analysis on the proposed prices to ensure fair and reasonable prices. For the purpose of determining price reasonableness, price analysis will be conducted in two parts as described below.

a. Part I: As CLIN 0001AA represents the largest component of value for this work, the proposed fixed unit rate for this CLIN will be multiplied by the amount indicated in the “Estimated Quantity” column below. (See illustration below.) Each evaluated price will be compared with prices of other offerors to determine competitiveness and price reasonableness. If that comparison is not sufficient to establish fair and reasonableness, proposed prices will be compared to other Government and commercial prices for the same or similar services. If both of those are insufficient, proposed prices will be compared to the independent government cost estimates.

*Note: A total evaluated price will be calculated and used to assist in determining the best value to the Government. Please note that the estimated quantity indicated in the chart above do not reflect the total potential work under this contract and may or may not reflect the actual value of unsecured debts assigned for collection during the contract period.

b. Part II: All other CLIN prices will be compared among offers and to the independent government cost estimates. The Government reserves the right to discuss and/or negotiate individual CLIN prices with one or more offerors being considered for award as well as to make award…