Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition - Contract Opp.pdf

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

(1) Agency and Contracting Activity

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Office of Management Services Washington, DC 20573

Period of Performance:

Base Year - April , 2023 – , 2024 Option Year 1 April , 2024 – , 2025 Option Year 2 April , 2025 – , 2026 Option Year 3 April , 2026 – , 2027 Option Year 4 April , 2027 – , 2028

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

The Federal Maritime Commission, Office of the Secretary, is seeking approval to issue a firm-fixed price award to West Publishing Corporation dba West, a Thomson Reuters, on a sole source basis to obtain a Computer Assistant Legal Research web-based system at an estimated cost of

West Publishing Corporation dba West, a Thomson Reuters 610 Opperman Drive Eagan, MN 55123

(3) Description of Supplies/Services

The requirement is to provide a Computer Assistant Legal Research web-based search system. This web-based legal research system will allow the Commission access to a public records web-based search service, including primary law, analytical, and litigation content. Westlaw’s system includes legislative materials, alert services, warnings on overruled, implicitly overruled, or abrogated cases even where the case does not cite to overruled authority, and both online and telephonic support services that includes, training, research, and technical assistance.

Period of Performance: April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2028

Estimated cost (inclusive of one year base and four one-year option periods):

Period Unit Price Total Base Year 12 mo $2,640.76 $31,689.12

Option Year 1 12 mo $2,719.98 $32,639.79 Option Year 2 12 mo $2,801.58 $33,618.95 Option Year 3 12 mo $2,885.63 $34,627.53 Option Year 4 12 mo $2,975.08 $35,701.01 Total: $168,276.40

(4) Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition

FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

(5) Demonstration That the Nature of the Acquisition Require Use of the Authority Cited.

The Westlaw Edge Subscription includes Westlaw Edge National Primary, Analytical Plus and Litigation.

This subscription is proprietary to the contractor and not available through distributors. Westlaw Edge provides access to the following exclusive features:

Quick Check – Upload up to six documents and Quick Check will produce a report that includes recommendations for highly relevant authority that was not cited, a list of cited authority from within the document(s), and a side-by-side comparison between case quotes and the cited case language on Westlaw Edge.

WestSearch Plus—Find immediate answers to thousands of types of legal questions and dynamically filter your results to only the most relevant resources. Only WestSearch Plus has sophisticated typeahead functionality that produces suggested questions across thousands of legal topics. Westlaw Edge is the only legal research solution that includes a legal search engine built upon editorial assets such as the West Key Number System, Westlaw Headnotes, Notes of Decisions & more to presents responsive text at the top of a result list rather than simply presenting a list with highlighted terms.

KeyCite Overruling Risk—Instantly know whether a case contains an implicitly invalidated statement of law. Westlaw Edge is the only legal research solution that includes warnings on implicitly overruled or abrogated cases even where the case does not cite to overruled authority. Westlaw Edge leverages state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, built upon more than 100 years of editorial enhancements, to provide significantly more accurate warnings.

Compare Capabilities—Quickly understand how a statute or regulation has changed over time to easily see the most recent changes and compare any two versions instantly. Statutes Compare provides coverage for all statutory content with versions. In addition, Regulations Compare provides coverage for federal regulations as well as state regulations in 43 states plus District of Columbia. Users can download, print, or email the comparison. No other legal research solution provides these statutes compare functionality where a statute has been amended more than once in a single year. Also, only Compare Text enables you to compare text across many different content sets.

Litigation Analytics—View detailed data-driven insights on judges, courts, attorneys, law firms, and case types across most practice areas to develop the best-case strategy possible. Superior granularity to filter results by 28 different motion types and even more subtypes, as well as our exclusive, customizable “search within” option to enter your own filter within a filter. Litigation Analytics on Westlaw Edge provides more docket coverage, both federal and state, than any other provider, for the most reliable and targeted insights.

Westlaw also provides legal researchers with access to exclusive resources, proprietary tools, and technology that no other research provider can offer, including:

Authoritative content—With the most trusted primary law resources and leading analytical titles that are cited most often in court—all in one place and always available—researchers have access to all of the relevant information they need to answer a legal question.

Attorney-editor enhancements—For more than a century, Westlaw Edge attorney-editors have been analyzing, summarizing, and classifying the law. By developing proprietary innovations like the West Key Number System, KeyCite, headnotes, and Notes of Decisions, Westlaw Edge makes the content better organized and connected so it is easier for researchers to find accurate answers quickly.

Industry-defining technology— research innovations, such as WestSearch, the award-winning mobile app, Folder Analysis, Research Recommendations, Law Summaries, and Graphical Statutes connect content and their proprietary analysis of the law in ways so that legal professionals can conduct research faster and with more accuracy. Advanced, yet intuitive, easy-to-use functionality also helps researchers be more efficient.

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

West Key Number System—The West Key Number System is the master classification system of U.S.

law and is widely regarded as the cornerstone of effective legal research. It helps users to quickly locate and identify cases with the same or similar legal concepts in any jurisdiction in the U.S.

National Reporter System—Since 1879, West’s National Reporter System has compiled and organized federal and state case law into a cohesive body of law that can be researched within and across jurisdictions. West’s National Reporter System is available exclusively on Westlaw.

Editorial Enhancements—For more than a century, West attorney-editors have been providing editorial enhancements to case law, statutes, and other legal materials, which includes providing the most exhaustive verification and correction process in the legal publishing and information industry. No other research service can match West’s editorial experience.

PastStat Locator— With PastStat Locator, users can view prior versions of sections in USCA, as well as prior versions of statutes for select states. In all jurisdictions, PastStat Locator can rebuild the Table of Contents and show how it existed on a particular date. It can also identify when a statute or amendment has a future activation date, or when a statute or amendment is due to lapse.

Graphical Statutes/Interactive Timeline— Graphical Statutes revolutionizes statute research by charting legislative changes and linking related documents in an easy-to-read display. From a single screen, researchers can easily track changes in the law, locate relevant legislative history materials, read important case law, and check for possible amendments. Graphical Statutes is available for USCA and the statutes for select states.

Complete Restatements of the Law—The restatements are principles of black letter law distilled from case law. Restatements on Westlaw provide a section’s black letter law, reporter’s notes, commentary, illustrations, and annotations in one document. First Restatements of the Law, available exclusively on Westlaw, can help researchers trace the evolution of a law, or an area of law, and aid in the interpretation of older cases that rely on First Restatement sections.

Uniform Laws Annotated (ULA)—The ULA provides an extensive reference to the text of uniform laws, prepared under the sponsorship of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and the American Law Institute. ULA examines acts recommended for adoption in all states, pinpoints state variations, and includes annotations to cases decided in adopting jurisdictions.

Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)—CJS helps researchers understand unfamiliar areas of law by providing links to cases, statutes, regulations, key numbers, restatements, and more. CJS covers the full breadth and depth of the law, is cited to tens of thousands of times by the courts and is fully integrated with the West Key Number System.

EXCLUSIVE FEATURES AND SERVICES

Concurring and Dissenting Opinion Shading—Instantly know if search language is in the cases’ main opinion, or rather in the concurrence or dissent.

Procedural Posture—Westlaw attorney editors identify the procedural motions, requests, and objections made in a case, along with the appellate posture of the case, if any.

Research Recommendations—Based upon documents the user has interacted with during their session, Westlaw will recommend additional primary and secondary law as well as Key Numbers.

Snapshots—Westlaw gives snapshots of companies, legal professionals, and popular statutes.

Folder Analysis—Westlaw makes suggestions, identifying the legal issues present through automatic analysis of cases and statutes in a folder. Users can view additional recommended cases and statutes, see a visual representation of issues, and navigate documents by issue.

Research Report— Westlaw assembles professional reports, summarizing research in users’ folders.

Users can navigate reports with Table of Contents links, display all notations (including shared notes), and edit notes from the summary screen.

Visual Indicators—Westlaw helps researchers easily determine when they’ve already viewed or worked with a document. Icons for Already Viewed, Folders, and Notes help researchers to avoid retracing their steps.

West Publishing Corporation, a Thomson Reuters Company has been determined to be a uniquely capable web-based legislative database search service after a trial period subscription and user feedback. The proprietary service provided by the contractor’s unique “Westlaw Reports” are AI-generated reports which run on any materials (memos, briefs, etc.) that users (privately) upload. These reports scan, document, and cite check—in a matter of minutes—all cited materials. FMC staff use this feature on Appellant-Petitioner’s opening brief in FMC matters before the D.C. Circuit and it is a hugely beneficial resource. This unique feature is hours’ worth of work done automatically instead of wasting valued FMC employee’s time. Features like comparing via highlight the current and all previous versions of every statute in the U.S. Code and every regulation in the C.F.R. are standard with the contractor whereas market research has shown it to be an additional upcharge with competitors. Another benefit is its user-friendly functionality, and the higher accuracy of reference materials concerning FMC legislation. When using features like “copy with reference” it allows users to highlight a portion of text and a box pops up allowing the user to copy with reference. West Publishing had extremely accurate citations compared to its competitors.

(6) Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

Market Research has determined that “Westlaw Reports” contain unique features that are not available from other vendors. This requirement will be synopsized in Contract Opportunities.

(7) Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determined that the rates proposed are reasonable and are the same rates provided commercially.

(8) Description of Market Research.

Market Research determined that West Publishing Corporation was found to have unique software(web-based) capabilities not found with other vendors.

(9) Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

All facts have been documented in other sections. There are no additional facts to be reported in this section.

(10) A Listing of the Sources, if Any, that Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the Acquisition.

N/A

(11) A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or Services Required.

Before any subsequent acquisition for a similar requirement is initiated in the future, market research will be conducted again to determine if there are alternatives,

(12) Contracting Officer’s Certification

I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer

(13) 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.

Technical Representative

APPROVAL:

Contracting Officer