Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General

Sole Source Justification

In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 8.4 and General Services Administration Acquisition Manual (GSAM) 538.7104-3(b), the following justification documents the decision to modify award a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) order on a sole source basis.

(1) Mission Area and Contracting Activity.

Requisition Number: REQLEG-26-00-009

Requesting Activity Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Counsel (OC)

Contracting Activity: DHS OIG Acquisitions Division

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

The OIG requests approval to modify its existing task order awarded under GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Contract 47QTCA18D00C6/70VT1525F00017, for the Everlaw FedRAMP Moderate vendor-hosted, cloud-based eDiscovery solution, to increase data storage, activate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) review features, and incorporate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) workflow processing.

The requested modification will:

increase data storage capacity from 5TB to 15TB for the base year (up to 40TB including option years);

enable AI batch processing features; and integrate a FOIA module for intake, redaction, production, release, and statutory reporting, including a public-facing requester portal.

(3) A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

The primary objective of this action is to modify order 47QTCA18D00C6/70VT1525F00017 to incorporate additional storage capacity, AI credits for Everlaw’s AI module, and FOIA Portal access. The modification will impact the base year and all option periods.

DHS OIG is acquiring additional storage space, AI credits to access those capabilities, and access to the FOIA portal. Storage will increase by 10 GB during the base and continue to increase throughout the option periods for a final allotted space of 40TB. Credits (2 million) for AI capabilities will be added to the base period and each option year. Lastly the FOIA module will be incorporated only into option periods.

The total change is valued at $3,687,800.00 for the base and all option periods. The new order total, after order execution, will increase from $1,350,000.00 to $5,037,800.00.

(4) Identify the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

GSAR 538.7104-3(b)(iii) The order should be issued on a sole source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an FFS order already issued on a competitive basis.

(5) Demonstrate that the nature of the acquisition requires using the authority cited.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition applies for this procurement because this additional support will be activated under the capabilities of the software current software already implemented under task order

This acquisition is necessitated by conditions qualifying as a logical follow-on that precludes full and open competition. The OIG’s current eDiscovery and FOIA environment is at a critical operational juncture. The OIG must rapidly migrate and process large volumes of active and legacy investigative, audit, and litigation data due to legacy systems (NUIX, Relativity, and FOIAXpress) being decommissioned or already discontinued due to hardware failure, contract expiration, and persistent security vulnerabilities. The initial needs are currently being supported under the competitively awarded 47QTCA18D00C6/70VT1525F00017 to Everlaw for their electronic discovery reference model software suite.

The original contract was awarded through a competitive process, demonstrating the contractor’s capability and efficiency in meeting the stringent requirements. Transitioning to a new contractor would incur significant duplication of costs, estimated at an additional $5,000,000, involving initial setup, system integration, and training expenditures for 80TB of data storage. These costs are derived from past competitive quotes and are deemed non-recoupable through competition.

Under the current software we are adding up to 40TB for an additional $3M dollars in total throughout the life of the contract.

Security Considerations:

All alternatives must exhibit compliance with OIG, DHS, FedRAMP, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including robust data encryption, multifactor authentication, and audit logging. Security vulnerabilities among current and alternate vendors, including publicized breaches, render those platforms non-viable.

Contract Discontinuation and Transition Risk:

OIG is already behind in migrating case data into Everlaw, and the Relativity license will expire by the end of this fiscal year and will not be renewed. The FOIAXpress contract ends in November 2026. No viable current contracts remain to provide uninterrupted eDiscovery or FOIA processing. Any further delays will directly jeopardize OIG’s legal, investigatory, and transparency obligations.

Implementation Feasibility and Timeliness:

The solution required is complex, involving not only advanced eDiscovery capabilities but a tightly integrated, secure FOIA processing suite capable of handling a sustained annual volume averaging 300 requests, with a backlog exceeding 600 cases. Competing a new procurement would require not only acquisition lead time, but also repeated investments in requirements development, source selection, data migration, and a lengthy authority to operate (ATO) approval process, which in recent OIG experience exceeds 12 months for solutions of this scope and sensitivity. This timeline is incompatible with OIG’s imminent system expirations, current storage overage, investigative and audit caseloads, a FOIA backlog exceeding 600 cases, and statutory response times. The time invested in standing up and accrediting the existing Everlaw platform would necessarily be lost, compounding legal and operational risk.

The combination of (1) security vulnerabilities, (2) contract discontinuation, and (3) the significant time and resources required to competitively procure, implement, and accredit a new IT solution collectively render other alternatives impractical or infeasible for meeting urgent operational and statutory requirements. The incumbent solution (Everlaw) is already established and operationally accredited for OIG’s sensitive case migration and processing needs.

(6) A determination by the Contracting Officer that the order represents a fair and reasonable price.

Although GSAM 538.7102-2(d) waives a formal determination, the Contracting Officer anticipates that pricing will be fair and reasonable since the order is being placed against the contractor’s GSA Schedule. The Contracting Officer will ensure the final price is fair and reasonable by confirming any applicable discounts, and reviewing the final pricing prior to award.

(7) A description of the market research conducted among schedule holders and the results, or a statement of the reason Market Research was not conducted.

OIG conducted market research, including industry outreach and a review of federal procurements. Market alternatives were found to lack sufficient security, fail to meet accreditation requirements, or could not be implemented in the urgent timeframe required.

Component agency (U.S. Secret Service) feedback corroborated these findings, citing similar workload-driven deadlines and transition risk. This justification will be posted publicly; the Government will consider all timely responses offering a viable, accredited solution capable of meeting the demonstrated compelling schedule and legal imperatives.

(8) Any other facts supporting use of other than full and open competition.

None.

(9) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition of the supplies or services required.

Should viable alternatives emerge in the future—capable of meeting OIG’s operational, security, and statutory requirements without undue risk or delay—OIG will conduct a new competitive procurement. For the duration of this urgent transition period, only the incumbent platform can assure mission continuity and legal compliance.

Sole Source Justification

(10) Certifications & Approvals

Technical / Requirements Personnel Certification

I certify this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for this justification, is complete and accurate.