Long Beach Justice Fund Legal Services

The City of Long Beach Office of Equity is requesting proposals for legal services to assist low-income immigrant community members with removal defense, affirmative applications, and appellate representation through the Long Beach Justice Fund, with proposals due August 12, 2025 and written questions due July 15, 2025. A local business preference of 5 extra credit points applies to home-based businesses, or 10 extra credit points to non-residential brick-and-mortar businesses with current City business licenses located in Long Beach.

The scope covers removal defense for immigrants facing deportation proceedings; affirmative status applications including U Visas, T Visas, and Violence Against Women Act petitions; and appellate representation including motions to reopen and Ninth Circuit appeals. The awarded Legal Service Provider must operate under a Universal Representation Model and serve eligible clients earning 200 percent or less of federal poverty guidelines who are unrepresented by counsel and have ties to Long Beach. Proposers must submit itemized one-year cost proposals addressing intake and referral processes, case management, staff time, evidence gathering, court fees, and application filing. The contract covers a two-year initial period with options to renew for three additional one-year periods, for a maximum five-year term. The estimated total allocation is $734,000 for the two-year period, subject to budget availability. Payment will provide up to 25 percent of the awarded amount upon contract execution, with subsequent payments contingent on progress toward deliverables, quarterly and biannual reporting completion, and participation in required contract management meetings.

Evaluation weighs organizational capacity and experience (30 percent), method of approach (40 percent), communications and reporting capability (20 percent), and cost reasonableness (10 percent). The awarded contractor must maintain commercial general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence, professional liability of $1,000,000, workers' compensation as required by California law, and cyber and privacy insurance of $1,000,000 as applicable. Contracts exceeding $100,000 are subject to Long Beach Municipal Code Equal Benefits Ordinance compliance and CalPERS retiree restrictions under California Government Code provisions. Proposals must be submitted electronically through LongBeachBuys.com and remain valid for 90 days from the submission deadline.