Courtesy Posting - LEGAL SERVICES TO ASSIST THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH PBM OPIOID LITIGATION

The Office of the Attorney General, State of Utah, is requesting proposals for legal services to assist with PBM opioid litigation under Solicitation GN27-1, with proposals due July 27, 2026. The solicitation may result in multiple contract awards and contemplates engagement through conclusion of all litigation, including appeals, with no predetermined term limit.

The scope is comprehensive legal services—evaluation, investigation, and litigation of claims against pharmacy benefit managers and others involved in unlawful conduct related to opioid manufacture, marketing, distribution, dispensing, and sale. The litigation team must include a Lead Counsel with at least 20 years of complex civil litigation experience and three to six Senior Attorneys each with at least 10 years of complex civil litigation experience; all must hold active bar licensure and maintain professional liability insurance of at least $5 million per incident. Offerors must demonstrate financial capability to sustain annual associate and staff salaries of at least $1.5 million for five consecutive years without contingent fee payment.

Compensation is contingent fee plus reimbursement of authorized costs and expenses. The contingent fee applies tiered recovery amounts ($10 million, $15 million, $20 million thresholds) up to a $50 million maximum cap, calculated as a percentage of the maximum fees permitted under Utah Code section 67-5-33(5). Each offeror proposes a percentage of that maximum, applied proportionally across all tiers. The OAG may authorize hourly fees by Change Order at no more than the lesser of the provider's typical billing rate or DOJ Matrix rates. Litigation costs and travel are reimbursed at actual cost; internal document storage and online legal research platforms are not reimbursable. Prior Outside Counsel fees must be accounted for in proposals.

Evaluation is five-stage: mandatory requirements verification, initial technical scoring (minimum average 4.0 required), presentation interviews with Lead Counsel mandatory and Senior Attorneys strongly encouraged, final technical proposal evaluation (minimum 500 points required to advance), and cost evaluation. Technical criteria carry 70 percent weight (700 of 1,000 points)—qualifications of Lead Counsel and Senior Attorneys (40 percent), litigation team quality and capabilities (35 percent), vision and strategy in PBM opioid litigation (40 percent), and financial capability (25 percent). Cost comprises 30 percent (300 points). Mandatory requirements include absence of conflicts of interest, litigation team certifications, background check completion, and non-debarment status.