Bond and Disclosure Counsel Services

The City of Dallas is seeking qualified law firms to provide bond counsel and disclosure counsel services through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for municipal bond-related legal work. The procurement aims to secure one or more five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contracts for bond counsel services and one five-year ID/IQ contract for disclosure counsel services. Specifically, the City requires legal services for preparing, negotiating, and reviewing documents related to municipal bond issuances, including general obligation and enterprise bonds, as well as providing legal opinions and advising on bond-related matters. The evaluation will be conducted using a 100-point scoring system: 55 points for experience and qualifications, 25 points for firm location and service delivery capabilities, and 20 points for approach to projects. Proposals must be submitted electronically through the City's Bonfire procurement system by January 23, 2026, with public proposal openings occurring on Fridays at 2:00 p.m. A qualifications and preproposal meeting will be held to allow respondents to ask questions, with all inquiries submitted electronically through the City's procurement portal and answered via addendum.

No single law firm will be awarded both bond counsel and disclosure counsel contracts, and the City reserves the right to assign firms to specific bond issue categories at its sole discretion. The procurement does not specify explicit set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises, though the City's standard terms include local preference considerations and a living wage requirement of $23.06 per hour for employees on contracts exceeding $50,000. While no specific incumbent vendors are highlighted, the City has a historical bond issuance record totaling approximately $1.21 billion in par amount across various bond types since 2023. The City will pay invoices within 30 days of receipt of correct invoices, and all work product, records, equipment, and intellectual property will become City property. Although no precise award value is specified, the contract anticipates ongoing bond issuances and legal services with fees contingent upon bond sales, suggesting a potentially significant engagement for the selected law firms.