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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - 8669 LEGAL SERVICES FOR POUDRE FIRE AUTHORITY RETIREMENT PLANS633 Seventeenth Street, Suite 3000, Denver, Colorado 80202-3622 Telephone: 303.297.2900 Fax: 303.298.0940 www.shermanhoward.com Active/48127222.1 George Y. Tsai, Esq. Direct Dial Number: 303.299.8426 E‐mail: gtsai@shermanhoward.com Kathleen A. Odle, Esq. Direct Dial Number: 303.299.8116 E‐mail: kodle@shermanhoward.com February 28, 2018 Via Electronic Submission Beth Diven Buyer City of Fort Collins Purchasing Department 215 North Mason St. 2nd floor Fort Collins, Colorado 80524 bdiven@fcgov.com Re: Sherman & Howard L.L.C.’s Response to Request for Proposal 8669 – Legal Services for Poudre Fire Authority Retirement Plans Dear Ms. Diven: Thank you for kindly extending the deadline to allow us the opportunity to respond to the City of Fort Collins’ Request for Proposal for legal services for the Poudre Fire Authority Retirement Plans. Sherman & Howard has had the privilege of representing Poudre Fire Authority in the past, and we welcome the opportunity to reestablish our relationship and assist the Poudre Fire Authority with its 401(a) plan and other retirement plan needs. Sherman & Howard’s employee benefits attorneys have decades of experience advising governmental entities, and specifically fire authorities, in the area of retirement benefits and have a broad range of experience in all areas of retirement and benefits law. Our team prides themselves on focusing on the needs of our public clients while remaining aware of budget constraints and the need for efficiency. The following information outlines our firm’s qualifications to provide the requested services. We welcome any specific inquiries to assist you in your decision‐making process. Thank you again for this opportunity. Sincerely, George Y. Tsai Kathleen A. Odle Response to the City of Fort Collins and the Poudre Fire Authority Request for Proposal Active/48127222.1 Firm Qualifications. Sherman & Howard L.L.C. is a full-service law firm which has been headquartered in Denver since its establishment in 1892. We have over 185 attorneys in 11 offices across Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Missouri, New Mexico and Georgia. Sherman & Howard has one of the largest employee benefits law practices in Colorado. We have represented wide-ranging governmental, publicly and privately held clients in employee benefits matters for many years, and we are capable of providing the full scope of services as requested by the Poudre Fire Authority. The attorneys in Sherman & Howard's Employee Benefits Group understand the special needs of governmental clients and their retirement plans and have the experience and capability to provide legal services to the Poudre Fire Authority Board (“Board”) regarding its retirement plans in a very efficient and cost-effective manner. Our Employee Benefits Group advises many fire districts, including Evergreen Fire/Rescue, South Metro Fire Rescue, Golden, Colorado (Volunteer Firefighter Plan), the City of Glenwood Springs, the City and County of Broomfield, and the City of Las Vegas with respect to their qualified retirement plan and other employee benefits needs. Additionally, we currently provide legal benefits advice to more than 30 public entities, many of which maintain 401(a) retirement plans. Our attorneys provide comprehensive advice to public clients and fire authorities in structuring and administering all types of benefit plans, including defined benefit, defined contribution and 457 deferred compensation arrangements. This includes providing guidance to clients on compliance with applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, and numerous federal and state laws including the fire and police pension provisions under Title 31 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, HIPAA, COBRA, ACA, Workers’ Compensation, FMLA, ADA, and ADEA. We also have a large and experienced Labor and Employment Department with whom we consult regularly regarding employment law matters. We represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor in connection with all aspects of their retirement programs, including with respect to audits and participation in voluntary corrections programs. We also consult with fiduciaries regarding compliance with their obligations under both federal and state law. We strive to provide practical advice to clients on the design and administration of their benefit programs while ensuring that their plans comply with the technical legal requirements. Attorney Biographies. Sherman & Howard has one of the largest and most diverse Employee Benefits groups in Colorado. George Tsai would be the attorney principally in charge of providing these services with assistance from Kathy Odle. In addition, we have three other experienced employee benefits attorneys and a paralegal available to provide assistance in a cost-effective manner. George would coordinate and staff the engagement and would be the primary individual interacting with the team at the Board. Every member of our team is available to the Board by phone or email, and would be happy to meet with the Board in person, as all attorneys on our team are based in the firm’s Denver office. We would give Poudre Fire Authority matters the highest priority and assure that deadlines are met in a cost-efficient and timely manner. George Tsai is an Associate in the Employee Benefits Group. George assists all types of employers with employee benefits matters including qualified plans, health & welfare benefits, and executive & equity compensation. In addition to assisting public entity clients with employee benefit matters, George has prior public sector experience as in- house counsel at a municipality. Before joining Sherman & Howard, George practiced employee benefits law with a global AmLaw 50 law firm. George received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2010 and his undergraduate degree, with distinction, from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. Response to the City of Fort Collins and the Poudre Fire Authority Request for Proposal 3 Active/48127222.1 Kathleen Odle is a Member of the Employee Benefits Group. She provides day-to-day advice to all sizes and types of employers, including publicly traded entities, non-profit entities and governmental employers, on all aspects of Employee Benefits, including qualified plans and 401(k) plans, executive compensation, welfare benefits, and equity arrangements. Her practice includes 16 active public entity clients. Kathy has practiced at Sherman & Howard for her entire career. She has received the Chambers USA’s highest ranking in the area of Employee Benefits Law, is named in Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits law, was named “Lawyer of the Year” in a previous edition of Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits, Denver, and is recognized as a Super Lawyer in the area of Employee Benefits. R. Michael Sanchez is a Member of the Employee Benefits Group. He provides comprehensive advice to all types of clients, governmental employers included, in structuring and administering all types of Employee Benefit plans. This includes providing guidance on compliance with ERISA and applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Mike also assists in the design and implementation of defined benefit and defined contribution plans, employee stock ownership plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, welfare benefit plans, severance plans and all types of incentive arrangements. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1972. He received his bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in 1969. Kirsten Stewart is a Member of the Employee Benefits Group. She advises governmental clients in Colorado and Nevada maintaining defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans and deferred compensation plans. Her practice includes 15 active governmental clients. She received her law degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1995. She received her undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Indiana University in 1992. Kirsten is listed in Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits Law and was honored in Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year – Denver, CO, for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in 2014. Bruce Muir is a Member of the Employee Benefits Group. He represents clients in a broad range of Employee Benefit matters, including the planning and establishment of retirement plans, employee stock ownership plans, compensation plans and non- pension fringe benefits for businesses, professional groups and nonprofit entities of all sizes. He also represents ERISA fiduciaries in various transactions. He received his law degree from University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 1973. He received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Vassar College in 1971. Bruce is listed in Best Lawyers in America under the categories of Employee Benefits and Health Care Law. Rate Schedule. The hourly billing rates for the attorneys we propose for this engagement are listed below. We understand that you want to work with counsel to proactively identify and mitigate risks in an efficient and cost- effective manner. We view ourselves first as problem solvers. Thus, our objective is to develop and implement efficient and effective methods to help our clients achieve their business objectives. Attorney Rate George Tsai $395.00 Kathy Odle $620.00 Kirsten Stewart $580.00 Bruce Muir $660.00 Mike Sanchez $660.00 Response to the City of Fort Collins and the Poudre Fire Authority Request for Proposal 4 Active/48127222.1 Paralegal Rate Lisa Green $210.00 Our rates are subject to periodic review as our overall fee schedule changes and our lawyers’ years of experience increase. We submit bills on a monthly basis with a detailed breakdown which indicates, by day and lawyer, the tasks performed. We do not charge for photocopies or other miscellaneous costs. Firm practice is to charge only out-of- pocket expenditures such as messengers, overnight couriers and official copies. Charging for travel time and related expenses are mostly moot as our Employee Benefits team is locally based. Conclusion. It would be our privilege to provide employee benefit legal services to the Board, and we appreciate this opportunity to present our qualifications. We not only possess extensive experience in all areas of employee benefits law, but we have a long history of commitment to providing clients with ongoing value- added advice and assistance. Our firm has extensive resources and personnel to assist you and, should you select us as your employee benefits counsel, you will receive our highest priority and dedication.