Legal Support Services

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) intends to issue a solicitation for award of multiple Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for legal support services.  These services will involve providing advice to FRA in regard to the Railroad Rehabilitation Improvement Financing (RRIF) program and assistance with the drafting and negotiation of agreements for direct loans and loan guarantees for program applicants.  Task orders will be competitively awarded under the contract(s) using individual statements of work as specific projects arise.  Objectives for the contractor will include assisting the FRA in structuring its portion of the debt in a transaction, assuring that the transaction protects the Federal government's interest, and assuring consistency with the governing statutes, regulations, notices, Office of Management and Budget circulars, and executive orders associated with the RRIF program and federal loans in general.  It is highly desirable for the successful offeror to have significant rail and/or project finance expertise in the municipal bond, corporate bond, and commercial banking sectors, as well as specific experience in infrastructure financings resulting from public-private partnerships.  Attorneys providing services under this contract shall have been admitted to the bar of at least one U.S. state or the District of Columbia, in good standing, and shall have graduated from an accredited U.S. law school.  The period of performance for the anticipated contract(s) will be a 12-month base year plus four (4) additional one-year option periods.  FRA anticipates issuance of the solicitation on or about January 25, 2011.  This solicitation will be issued electronically free of charge on the Federal Business Opportunities website www.fbo.gov.

Interested offerors may submit a written request to be placed on the email list to be notified once the solicitation has been released.  Offerors may submit their requests to FRA via RRIFsolicitation2011@dot.gov.