Legal Services for Opioid Investigation & Litigation

Socorro County, New Mexico, in collaboration with Catron, Cibola, Curry, Sierra, and Valencia Counties, is seeking sealed proposals for Special Legal Counsel to investigate and potentially litigate against prescription opioid manufacturers, marketers, and distributors. The Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 2018-04-401 aims to address the opioid epidemic by eliminating public health hazards and recouping county expenditures related to opioid-related impacts. The selected law firm will be responsible for advancing all litigation costs on a contingency fee basis, with no upfront expenses to the counties. Evaluation criteria include a comprehensive scoring system totaling 1,050-1,100 points, with key categories such as Organization (150 points), Experience - Firm and Individual (300 points), Contingent Fee Arrangement (200 points), and Capacity and Capability (200 points). Critical procurement dates include a pre-proposal conference on June 12, 2018, a proposal submission deadline of July 25, 2018 at 11am MST, proposal evaluation on August 3, 2018, potential oral presentations between August 13-17, 2018, and a targeted contract award on August 28, 2018.

The procurement offers additional preference points for New Mexico-based businesses, with 50 points for New Mexico Resident Business and 100 points for New Mexico Resident Veteran Business certifications. The contract term is initially one year, with potential automatic renewals for up to three additional one-year terms. The counties are seeking a law firm with extensive experience in complex commercial litigation, particularly in consumer fraud and opioid-related cases, with the capacity to comprehensively track and report opioid-related expenditures. While no specific budget range is explicitly stated, the contingency fee arrangement suggests that compensation will be directly tied to the success of litigation efforts. The counties are open to both joint and individual lawsuit filing approaches and expect the selected firm to provide strategic guidance on the most effective litigation method, whether at the state or federal level. Interested law firms must demonstrate sufficient financial resources to advance all litigation expenses, including expert witness fees, and provide a detailed case strategy that outlines their proposed approach to addressing the opioid epidemic.