how much time does an attorney take to respond to speciality education rfp

by Miss Estell Lowe III 10 min read

How long does it take to submit an RFP?

sure to allow enough time in each step to get the work done. You must plan to include enough time for the whole process so that you are not rushed, but not so much time that it takes too long to have an agency on board. The whole process generally takes anywhere from a month and a half to three months (and sometimes a lot longer if

Should lawyers respond to all RFPs?

Of those who do respond, a significant number don't do so with any meaningful strategy in mind. They don't measure how much time or effort is going into RFP responses and they rarely follow through to learn more about why they were or weren't …

What is the RFP evaluation process?

Many legal marketers are delegated the time-consuming task of coordinating RFP responses. While the effort can result in new work for the law firm, developing a winning response can significantly disrupt the day-to-day responsibilities of the …

What does RFP stand for?

In most cases the standard processing time is 60 days, though the actual processing time can be anywhere from 15 days to 80 days depending on the adjudicator’s workload. If you haven’t received a response within 60 days of responding to your RFE, you should call USCIS customer service to check on the status of your application.

What are the benefits of a bidder's conference?

The main benefit of doing a bidder’s conference is that you can answer questions at one time with all the potential applicants present. You can also follow up by putting a transcript of the conference or a summary of the answers online. Another benefit of doing a bidder’s conference is that it lets you see the people/agencies who may be bidding and gives you a sense of approximately how many agencies might bid on this contract.

Why are orals and written reviews the same?

One benefit of having the same group for both the written review and the orals is that the reviewers can follow up during the oral presentations with specific questions about the written proposals. One benefit of having different groups for both phases is that a new person added to the panel for the oral presentations comes into the process with a fresh perspective and can assess the presentations without being influenced by the written proposals.

Why are oral presentations important?

They help to identify differences among the agencies that score well in the written review. They also often give you a better understanding of aspects of the agencies that don’t always come across in a written proposal, including things like work flow/procedures, creativity/style, technical capabilities, etc.

To host or not to host? Drivers of an RFP process

Legal departments may turn to an RFP process for a variety of reasons:

To respond or not respond: The outside counsel dilemma

Regardless of the legal department's impetus for the RFP or the quality of the RFP's design, reliance on this technique is growing and firms that regularly receive these requests are having a hard time handling the volume.

Summary

A legal department may be driven to initiate an RFP process for a variety of reasons, including seeking greater value (as defined by the legal department) for a particular matter (or a portfolio of matters) by creating a competitive market for the work.

About the author

Susan Hackett is the CEO of Legal Executive Leadership, LLC, a law practice management consulting firm she founded in 2011 after serving as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) for more than two decades.

How long does it take for USCIS to respond to a RFE?

The RFE should indicate an expected timeframe for your response, typically within 30 – 90 days (but never more than 12 weeks).

What is an I-797E?

USCIS may issue an RFE ( Form I-797E) any time an application or petition lacks sufficient evidence or documentation to make a final decision. An RFE does not mean that your application is going to be denied—it simply means that the adjudicator who is reviewing your case needs a little more information to approve your petition.

What is a NOID?

A Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) is much more serious than an RFE. While an RFE indicates that your application is missing evidence to make a final decision, an NOID means that you have provided enough initial evidence to evaluate your application and you are determined to be ineligible based on that evidence.

Defining RFP and RFI

There are many different definitions out there, but I like to keep it simple:

RFI Considerations

I refer to the RFI as “tire kicking”. Companies submitting an RFI are often just price shopping, or doing general vendor research. Nothing wrong with that approach — we all do that — but don’t spend too much responding to general RFI inquiries.

RFP Considerations

Requests for Proposal or “RFP” can be expensive and time consuming to create, much less respond to. Often, there are many stakeholders involved, many different decision makers, and many barriers to payment.

RFQ Considerations

The answer is different for products and services. Here is one suggested approach for each:

How long do you have to respond to a court order?

If you have received requests to produce, you have thirty days to prepare your written responses (unless the court has ordered something else). You do not file your written responses with the court. You simply mail the original back to the other side.

How long do you have to respond to a request for admission?

If you have received requests for admissions, you have thirty days to prepare your written responses (unless the court has ordered something else). You do not file your written responses with the court. You simply mail the original back to the other side.

How many days do you have to answer an interrogatory?

If you have received interrogatories, you have thirty days to prepare your written answers (unless the court has ordered something else). You do not file your written answers with the court.

What to do if you can't respond to a request?

If you are unable to respond to a request because it is too vague, ambiguous, or somehow objectionable, you can state an objection and the reason for your objection. You must then respond to the extent the request is not objectionable. For example: REQUEST NO. 3: Please produce all papers and tickets.

How Did The Opportunity originate?

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Some government agencies, like public pension plans, are required by law to make RFPs publicly available. There are searchable websites that collect and post these opportunities for a monthly subscription fee. But most RFPs are invitation-only, meaning the issuing company reaches out to lawyers and law firms based on thei…
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Are We Eligible?

  • Before you start to work on the RFP, ensure you are eligible, based on the requirements posted. Consider these questions: 1. Would the firm be conflicted out due to current firm clients? 2. Can the firm meet the cybersecurity requirements noted in the RFP? 3. Are there other thresholds required in the RFP such as diversity, financial, technical, certification or prior experience criteria…
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What Are Our Chances of Winning?

  • This is really the most important question and is tied to multiple variables. Some lawyers make the mistake of thinking they should respond to all RFPs, as it can be a way to “brand” the firm to the company even if not selected. That is not a winning strategy and risks watering down your chances of being selected for work you could win. Before responding, ask: 1. Who is the incumb…
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What Resources Will Be Required to Execute A Response?

  • Underestimating the amount of time required to submit a winning response is a common mistake. Consider: 1. How much of the response includes questions for which you have ready language in your templates or knowledge base? 2. How much of the response will require lawyer input? 3. Who will need to be involved in crafting a pricing strategy for the response? 4. How much time w…
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Is The Work Desirable and Profitable?

  • Legal departments issuing RFPs have become significantly more aggressive in asking for discounts, value-adds, and alternative fee arrangementsthat shift more risk to the law firm. Firms should consider: 1. Is the type of workup for bid complex high-end work or commodity work? 2. Are we confident we can make a profit on the work based on the estimated discount needed to …
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