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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - 8052 ATTORNEY SEARCH SERVICES - DEPUTY & ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEYSResponse to Request for Proposal 8052 Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys Submitted to: Gerry Paul Director of Purchasing and Risk Management City of Fort Collins Submitted by: Tracy Herman Owner Touchstone Legal Resources LLC January 27, 2015 Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 1 of 8 Touchstone Legal Resources LLC (“Touchstone” “Recruiter” “Tracy Herman” “Tracy”) is pleased to submit this proposal to the City of Fort Collins (“the City” “Client”) to provide attorney search services to facilitate future recruitment and selection processes for Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys. Addendum No. 1 issued on January 14, 2015 has been received and the information requested in “Request for Proposal 8052 Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys” follows. 1. Is your firm able to deliver based on this proposed timeline? Yes. a. What additions or changes would you propose or require? Planned retirements provide a wonderful and important opportunity to review the roles and responsibilities of everyone in the City Attorney’s Office. To that end, Touchstone proposes that a pool of qualified candidates be established rather than simply replacing the anticipated vacancies based on the current job descriptions. However, if the City deems this suggestion inappropriate or unduly cumbersome, Touchstone will gladly work to replace the anticipated vacancies as individual hires. b. Provide additional details to demonstrate the value your agency would add to the steps in this recruitment/selection process. In the RFP, the description of what the City anticipates it will need is quite broad: “The City will most likely be seeking to hire attorneys licensed to practice law in Colorado with a minimum of five years’ experience as a practicing attorney, preferably in municipal law; but attorneys with strong experience in other governmental legal positions or in related fields such as real property, land use and planning, utilities, natural resources, employment law, business and finance law, and/or litigation would also be considered, with exact qualifications depending on the position to be filled. Supervisory experience is also preferred.” Also the number of hires and timing is uncertain: “Due to planned retirements, the City Attorney’s Office expects to hire at least two senior-level attorneys in 2015.” Preparation for the retirement of a key team member is multi-faced and the anticipated last date of employment almost always fluctuates. Thus it can be extremely difficult for the employer to strike a balance between being supportive of the retiring person’s wishes and not exposing the team to the risk of having a critical vacancy or of hiring the successor prematurely. Also, not only are senior-level attorneys deliberate and pragmatic but this vetting process will be comprehensive so a long hiring process should be anticipated. Touchstone suggests that the transitions would be maximized and all aspects of the process would move forward by having the Recruiter focused on developing the candidate pool while the City Attorney and members of the City Attorney’s Office staff focus on the accommodating the retiring individuals as well as reviewing the roles and responsibilities of the entire team. However, if the City deems this suggestion inappropriate or unduly cumbersome, Touchstone will gladly work to replace the anticipated vacancies as individual hires. Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 2 of 8 2. Provide a breakdown of estimated costs and fees for tasks 1-8 above. The fee for the placement of an individual senior-level attorney is twenty percent (20%) of such candidate’s annualized base compensation. a. How are expenses of the search included in your proposal? All expenses except lodging would be included in that fee (see below). b. What expenses will be charged to the City separate from any basic fee? If at any time the City determines it would like Tracy Herman to spend a full day at the City Attorney’s office, perhaps for meetings or to coordinate interviews, it would be optimal for her to stay at a local hotel the night before. That expense would be passed along to the City. However this expense would not be required for onsite activities lasting up to six (6) hours. c. Is there a maximum cost? The total fee would not exceed $20,800.00 per senior-level attorney hire. ($104,000.00 estimated base compensation x 20% = $20,800.00) 3. Who will be the primary contact for this search? Tracy Herman, Owner a. Secondary contacts? None b. What are the qualifications and backgrounds of each of these individuals? N/A 4. Describe the experience of the primary contact person in the recruitment. Tracy Herman was the attorney recruiter who assisted the City of Fort Collins with its search for its first Water Resources Attorney. Eric Potyondy’s started with the City Attorney’s Office on September 2, 2014. During this process, Tracy had numerous phone conversations with Steve Roy and Carrie Daggett and spent two days onsite coordinating the first round interviews. This made it possible for her to both meet most of the members of the City Attorney’s Office staff (and several members of the Utilities team) and experience the work environment and atmosphere first-hand. Also, Tracy has more than 20 years of experience providing strategic planning, succession planning, and recruiting services to law firms and legal departments. For more than four years she headed up the Legal Division of Bradsby Group (the recruiting agency ranked #1 by the Denver Business Journal 2008 - 2014) before launching Touchstone Legal Resources LLC in January 2014. Before joining Bradsby Group, she was a recruiter with EGS, Inc. a GSA Federal Supply Schedule prime contractor for Temporary Administrative and Professional Services where she learned about the requirements and nuances of supporting government hiring initiatives. Before that she spent more than 15 years providing marketing, business development, succession planning, and strategic support for progressively larger law firms including the Denver office of Greenberg Traurig LLP. She has supported the legal profession in Colorado for more than a decade and is an active member of Women in Energy, Leadership Douglas County Alumni Association, and the Rocky Mountain Legal Marketing Association. Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 3 of 8 a. How many searches has this individual conducted for attorney positions? Approximately 150, the vast majority of which were focused on attorneys currently practicing in Colorado and/or licensed to practice in Colorado. b. What kinds of attorney positions has this individual recruited for (i.e., government, private in-house counsel, litigation, business and finance, administrative, etc.)? General Counsel; Assistant City Attorney II; for law firms, attorneys practicing up to approximately thirty (30) years in numerous areas including: administrative law; agricultural law; antitrust and trade regulation; banking law; business law; class actions; commercial real estate; computers and software; construction law; contracts; copyrights; corporate law; education law; election, campaign and political law; employee benefits; energy; environmental law; finance; general practice; health industry law; HOA law; insurance defense; intellectual property; internet law; labor and employment; land use and planning; legal malpractice; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; municipal law; natural resources; OSHA law; partnership law; patents; personal injury; privacy law; products liability; professional liability; property law; public finance; real property; securities law; special districts; taxation; toxic torts; trademarks; trusts and estates; water (rights and quality); and workers’ compensation. c. If the individual has recruited for municipal or county attorney positions, or other governmental attorney positions, list representative cities or other governmental entities for which this service has been provided. The only municipal or county attorney position for which Tracy Herman has recruited is the search for a water resources attorney to join the City of Fort Collins in September 2014. 5. In what ways have members of your firm developed personal contacts with potential candidates in Colorado or in nearby states who may also be licensed to practice law in Colorado for this type of position? Having been an attorney recruiter in Colorado for more than five years and being an avid networker with a robust Rolodex, Tracy knows the area’s legal market inside and out. This is augmented by her 7,000+ 1st level connections in LinkedIn. Also, she is very active in the Rocky Mountain Legal Marketing Association (which helps her stay apprised of what is happening with the vast majority of law firms) and Women In Energy (which enables her to have a broad network of engaged professionals). 6. What procedures do you use in assessing your client organization's needs and values? How do you use this information in selecting candidates who meet those needs and share those values? In conjunction with this year’s search for a Water Resources Attorney, two members of the Fort Collins City Attorney’s office (Steve Roy and Carrie Daggett) were interviewed to help Tracy get a complete understanding of the specific career opportunity, the City Attorney’s Office, and the City of Fort Collins. For future attorney searches, this information would be augmented by conducting additional interviews so the messaging about the unique characteristics of the City of Fort Collins and the Fort Collins City Attorney’s Office (including the culture with and without the individuals who are anticipated to retire in 2015) would be current and well-rounded. 7. Describe how you will market the unique characteristics of the City of Fort Collins and the Fort Collins City Attorney’s Office to potential candidates. How will this differ from other positions you have/are recruiting for? Tracy uses a combination of her personal Rolodex and her more than 7,000 LinkedIn connections to identify potential candidates. The vast majority of Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 4 of 8 the communication is handled telephonically and she is discreet. She does not divulge the client identity until she is confident that the person is both qualified and interested. At that point she conveys the information referenced in item 6 above and other details regarding the opportunity. 8. Explain how you will conduct your search to ensure a candidate will be compatible with the specific needs of the City of Fort Collins and Northern Colorado region? In addition to understanding what the City will most likely be seeking (attorneys licensed to practice law in Colorado with a minimum of five years’ experience and so on), Touchstone would confirm that the same attributes that were delineated for the Water Resources Attorney search are sought: Positive Attributes  Volunteerism - Verify whether the candidate takes an active role or is influential with any charities or non-profit organizations;  Professional activities - Determine the candidate’s involvement in professional organizations and the extent of his/her professional network;  Industry leadership - Identify the depth of the candidate’s leadership and influence in an industry through his/her published works, blogs, tweets, followers, etc.;  Accomplishments - Understand a candidate’s personal and professional accomplishments such as education, jobs, awards and honors;  Communication skills - Confirm whether the candidate displays good communication skills in the form of relevant writing samples;  Cultural fit - Determine if the candidate demonstrates traits and characteristics that will help him/her to be a good professional culture fit within the City of Fort Collins organization, in light of the City’s organizational Mission, Vision and Values: o Vision -- To provide world-class municipal services through operational excellence and a culture of innovation. o Mission -- Exceptional service for an exceptional community. o Values -- o Outstanding Services o Innovation and Creativity o Respect o Integrity o Initiative o Collaboration and Teamwork o Stewardship 9. What procedures does your firm utilize in investigating the background of candidates? As part of the vetting process and before a candidate is submitted to the City of Fort Collins, Touchstone Legal Resources conducts a light background screen, as follows:  Search the Colorado Supreme Court website to confirm the attorney is admitted to practice law in the State of Colorado and to research the disciplinary history to ensure the person is in good- standing.  Google and Bing searches to screen for job-related background, and information regarding character and questionable behaviors (as noted below);  Review Facebook and LinkedIn information to screen for job-related background, and information regarding character and questionable behaviors (as noted below); Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 5 of 8 Touchstone Legal Resources uses the following best practices for performing social media searches as part of a comprehensive determination on whether to present the candidate to the City of Fort Collins:  Get candidate consent prior to screening;  Clearly define the types of information to be screened for and the criteria for screening;  Screen the same sites for everyone;  Screen in a consistent manner;  Do not provide protected data to the hiring decision-maker;  Perform searches in accordance with Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Touchstone Legal Resources avoids the following in conducting social media searches:  “Friending” a candidate;  Looking at private data;  Screening candidates from a varying set of web sites;  Disqualifying a candidate based on an automatic keyword or phrase search. Touchstone Legal Resources recommends that any employment offer would be extended with the caveat that the individual must pass the complete background check and drug screen conducted by the City’s Human Resources professionals pursuant to standard hiring procedures. 10. What role do you see the City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office staff, Human Resources or other City personnel playing in this process? Touchstone would propose that a Scope of Work be finalized at the outset of the search that would delineate the roles of all process participants. What follows is the Scope of Work for the Water Resources Attorney search. It worked very well and would be used as the basis of future attorney searches. **PROPRIETARY SAMPLE ** PROPRIETARY SAMPLE ** PROPRIETARY SAMPLE ** SCOPE OF WORK WATER RESOURCE ATTORNEY CITY OF FORT COLLINS Professional shall:  Work with Client to fully understand the opportunity and what has happened to date in terms of: o where the job was posted and when (Colorado Water Congress, Colorado Bar Assoc. etc.); o who has already applied; o how were the prior applicants told they would not be invited for an interview (if via email obtain sample).  Make a detailed recruiting plan that includes the current research ensuring the appropriate candidate pool is complete and does not include any of the round one participants.  Discretely present opportunity to qualified individuals who may become candidates. Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 6 of 8  Qualify candidates.  Conduct very light background screen** (candidates who don’t “pass” are rejected) for candidates, as follows: o Google and Bing searches to screen for job-related background, and information regarding character and questionable behaviors (as noted below); o Review Facebook and LinkedIn information to screen for job-related background, and information regarding character and questionable behaviors (as noted below); o Search the Colorado Supreme Court website to research an attorney’s disciplinary history.  Assist candidate in preparing application materials: o City of Fort Collins Application for Employment; o Transmittal letter that includes details regarding motivation; o Resume; o Supplemental Questionnaire.  Obtain full contact information for three professional references, including at least one current reference.  Presentation of at least four, but not more than six candidates to Client via email that includes all 4 items above as well as Professional’s insights and reasons the candidate is worthy of an interview no later than three weeks after confirmation of process history and position description.  Work with Client to schedule first interview for candidates with Client.  Prepare candidates for first interview.  Confirm first interview with candidates and Client.  Debrief candidates.  Debrief with Client.  Contact candidates who didn’t make it to round two to convey same.  Conduct professional reference checks.  Work with Client to schedule second interview for finalist candidate(s).  Prepare finalist candidate(s) for second interview (includes trial closing and substantive resignation prep).  Confirm second interview with finalist candidate(s) and Client (includes trial closing).  Debrief finalist candidate(s).  Debrief with Client and assist with selection of top candidate.  Assist both parties with negotiating the closing.  Finalize offer and start date.  Present verbal offer of employment and secure candidate acceptance; convey same to Client and understand timing of the formal offer being sent directly to the candidate.  Confirm candidate completion of drug screening process upon receipt of formal offer.  Assist candidate with resignation process.  Resignation debrief with candidate.  Stay in touch with candidate until start date; convey anything of importance to Client. Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 7 of 8  Confirm with Client that the candidate started as scheduled.  Stay in touch with Candidate and Client for six months after start date. **Item to be conducted by Client/Human Resources :  Complete background check and drug screen pursuant to standard hiring procedures 11. How many of each of other attorney position searches and other types of position searches is the primary contact currently involved in? Two – both of which will be completed by Friday, February 13. How will you ensure that the City receives prompt and timely attention throughout this process? Tracy would not accept another time-sensitive project during the course of the project and would adhere to the dates and commitments delineated in project-specific Scope of Work. 12. Explain any guarantees of services provided and related time periods. If the candidate voluntarily leaves or is discharged by the City of Fort Collins within 90 days from the date of employment, Touchstone Legal Resources will make every effort to find a suitable replacement candidate at no cost, provided that City of Fort Collins has paid our fee in full in accordance with the terms of the agreement. This warranty does not apply if:  The City of Fort Collins does not give Recruiter the exclusive opportunity to replace the candidate within a reasonable length of time; and  The candidate is discharged by the City of Fort Collins following a layoff, downsizing or reorganization of the position. The following individuals have indicated that they would be happy to serve as a professional reference for Touchstone Legal Resources LLC in conjunction with this proposal: Carrie Mineart Daggett Interim City Attorney Fort Collins City Attorney's Office 300 La Porte Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80521 cdaggett@fcgov.com (direct) 970-416-2463 (fax) 970-221-6327 Gene Riordan Managing Partner Vranesh and Raisch, LLP 1720 14th St., Suite 200 Boulder, CO 80302 ejr@vrlaw.com (general) 303-443-6151 (fax) 303-443-9586 Response to RFP 8052 - Attorney Search Services – Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys page 8 of 8 Kendor P. Jones Managing Partner Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, P.C. 1125 17th Street, Suite 2200 Denver, CO 80202 krones@wsmtlaw.com (direct) 303-376-4485 (fax) 303-832-2366 David J. Babiarz Managing Shareholder Dufford & Brown, P.C. 1700 Broadway, Suite 2100 Denver, Colorado 80290-2101 dbabiarz@duffordbrown.com (direct) 303-837-6325 (fax) 303 -832-3804 Stacia Bank Delaney Shareholder and Member of Attorney Hiring Committee Berenbaum Weinshienk PC 370 17th Street, Suite 4800 Denver, Colorado 80202 (direct) 303-592-8368 (fax) 303-629-7610 sdelaney@bw-legal.com Conclusion Touchstone Legal Resources LLC would enjoy the opportunity to support the City of Fort Collins again by providing attorney search services to facilitate future recruitment and selection processes for Deputy and Assistant City Attorneys.