The vendor is required to provide a system that can perform authority law department matter management, and e-billing for matters handled by outside counsel for authority.
- Authority requires the system that will create a uniform, automated, and streamlined process to receive, review, and approve invoices for legal expenses from outside counsel law firms, and to track and manage the progress of legal matters with calendaring functionalities compatible with microsoft outlook.
- The system should, at a minimum, perform the following functions:
1. Implementation and integration
a. Web-based access
• The contractor will provide unlimited users, 24-7, web-based access to and use of the system by designated authority employees and the law firms retained by the authority general counsel.
b. Platform
• The system must support internet explorer 10, google chrome and Firefox, and microsoft windows 7 and 10.
• The system must work with a pc, laptop, tablet or smartphone with a network, internet or cellular connection.
• The system must accept industry standard LEDES (legal electronic data exchange standard) format without modification to standard and accept any other file format
c. Cloud storage – the system must provide
• Cloud storage that will house all data, documents and files created or uploaded during the term of the agreement and is also sufficient to house all data migrated from authority current legal e-billing and matter management system.
d. Maintenance
• All maintenance and support of the system must be performed by the contractor.
• The contractor shall perform any system updates in a manner that avoids any down time to authority users.
• Any contractor upgrades (system, software or application) must maintain seamless backward compatibility with authority current system configuration: 64-bit, microsoft windows 10 enterprise, service pack 1, microsoft internet explorer 10, 32-bit microsoft outlook 2010.
e. Data migration and transition plan
• The contractor must provide a thorough data migration and transition plan that contains a timeline and explanation of how the contractor intends to transfer and incorporate all existing data from authority current vendor into the system and specifies how a smooth and seamless transition to the system will be achieved by the contractor with no service interruptions or downtime to authority.
f. Historical data implementation
• The contractor shall ensure that all non-active and active matters, outside counsel firms, account invoicing history and staffing profiles are fully implemented and operational before the system can go-live, which may include running the system parallel with the existing system to ensure that all data has been successfully transferred to their appropriate matter names and matter number fields.
• The contractor’s timely implementation of its platform is a critical element of performance and failure to implement the system in conformance with these specifications within the time specified will be considered an event of default
• The process of historical data implementation shall not exceed 120 days from the execution of the contract to the go-live date.
• To the extent required, the contractor shall cooperate with the authority existing vendor of web based legal e-billing and matter management support system services to coordinate any required transitions to the contractor’s platform and to ensure that the authority continues to receive service without interruption.
• The contractor shall be solely responsible for any required coordination with third parties, and failure of any third party to cooperate with the contractor will not excuse performance of the contractor’s obligation herein.
g. Verification and testing prior to go-live
• System testing: the contractor must ensure all the components of the systems are working properly and meet business and technical requirements.
• System testing must also include all reports and imports/exports with other systems.
• System testing shall be conducted on production systems with artificial data; and
• User acceptance test (UAT): authority users test the usability of the system and its reports.
• Data migration completion test.
• Test must also include sufficient checks to determine that all data and documents have been successfully migrated and are fully accessible in the new system.
• All testing must be successfully completed by the contractor to the satisfaction of authority prior to go-live.
h. New users and matters
• When a new user is needed or a matter is ready for entry into the system, the system must allow the authority administrator to set up a new user or a new matter.
• Only the authority administrator(s) or his/her designated staff person(s) will be able to activate new users or matters in the system.
2. Legal e-billing application
a. Billing guidelines
• The contractor will review authority current “outside counsel guidelines” and translate them into a rule set to be applied against invoice charges submitted by outside counsel to approve, flag, adjust or reject charges as needed within the e-billing component of the system.
• To the extent that the contractor has already created a rule set under a prior contract with authority, contractor will update that rule set, as necessary, to integrate any changes to authority billing guidelines that occur over the course of this contract.
b. UTBMS (uniform task base management system) task and activity and authority organization account codes
• The system must accept UTBMS expense codes and authority account codes.
• The system will automatically code all the item expenses to authority account codes.
c. Law firm registration and activation
• The contractor will set up new law firms and allow the authority administrator(s) to approve and add law firm staff in the system along with their rates to enable outside counsel doing business with authority to begin utilizing the system.
d. Invoice initiation
• Outside counsel will submit invoices in the system in one of two ways: input charges directly in the system; or submit a paper, email or faxed copy for input by the contractor.
• In the event outside counsel submits a paper, email or faxed invoice for input by the contractor, the contractor will be given two business days from the date of receipt of the invoice to upload it into the system
• Outside counsel will only be able to process invoices for active matters
• Back-up documentation to support expenses can be attached to the electronic invoice either by outside counsel, the contractor or by authority staff.
e. Automated audit
• The system will conduct an automated line–by-line analysis of the invoice against the established outside counsel guidelines and charge structure rules within 24 hours of the upload or resubmission of an invoice.
• The system will validate the invoice for format, mathematical errors, approved charges, billers, and rates, and the outside counsel guidelines.
• Once the invoice is reviewed, the system will clearly identify any necessary adjustments made and flag any questionable charges
• Rejected invoices will be returned to the outside counsel firm to be revised and an email notice will be sent to the authority internal file handler and the authority administrator.
f. Invoice routing
• The system will route the invoice electronically to the appropriate authority staff persons for review and approval based on pre-established approval authorities.
• Approvers will receive an email notification when an invoice has been forwarded to them for review
• Authority approvers will have full control over payment decisions and will be able to make adjustments to any invoice line item accordingly.
• Any changes to charges will be tracked within the automated audit trail and approvers will be able to add notes for each action.
• The system will notify approvers of invoices awaiting approval that have not been approved within authority designated timeframe.
• For invoices in file handlers’ queue for more than 30 days, the system will send an email notice to the authority administrator notifying them of pending past due invoices.
g. Invoice generation
• Once an invoice receives final approval, the system must allow the invoice to be printed with the name and address of the law firm, the line-item expenses charged to authority, a summary of all expenses by authority organization account code, the total amount billed and the total approved amount.
3. Legal matter management
a. Legal matter management configuration
• The system must allow for the assignment of matters to authority designated users.
• The system must also allow designated authority users from each law department organization unit to create a set of custom data fields unique to their unit that capture information related to specific matters.
• Custom data fields will include, but are not limited to, drop down lists, text boxes, and date functions.
• The custom data fields must be reportable, and their contents must be editable, searchable and reportable immediately
• If the contractor is required to create certain custom data fields on behalf of authority, the contractor must process all requests for custom data fields within one calendar week.
• At the conclusion of that time, the custom data fields must be fully editable and searchable, and the data in the custom data fields must be immediately reportable
b. New and closed
• The system must only allow authority to separately designate users who can create new matters in the system, who can view and/or edit the data within a matter, who can close matters in the system and who can delete matters in the system.
• The system must allow authority to create custom matter names for each new matter created.
c. Calendaring act matters
• The system must allow calendaring within the system itself. the calendaring function must remain compatible with microsoft outlook 2010 and must be made compatible with any version of microsoft outlook used by authority
• The system must allow for the creation of individual calendar events and the creation of calendaring templates that allow the simultaneous creation of multiple matter-related events or deadlines.
• The system must allow authority to assign different authority -designated users to each event or deadline.
d. Search capability
• The system must allow users to fully search matter management data, whether in standard or custom data fields, by numeric sequence, keywords or key phrases.
• The system must provide search results in a list format containing a link to each matter result containing one or more designated search terms.
• It is preferred that the system have a functionality that highlights or otherwise calls out the requested search term(s) where they appear in the matter management data for each matter in the result list.
4. Reporting requirements for legal e-billing and matter management
a. Real time
• The system must create reports that reflect up–to-date, real-time data entered into the system.
b. Custom reporting
• The contractor will create custom reports upon request by authority designated users, after approval by authority administrator, and contractor will make all necessary adjustments to the custom reports to meet the reporting needs of authority users.
• Provide an hourly rate for custom reporting & training on custom reporting.
• An estimated quote must be sent and approved by system administrator prior to engaging in any work.
c. Automated reporting
• The system must allow authority to select reports that run automatically at a specific time.
• The system must allow authority to designate whether a report is to be run only within the system itself or to be run automatically and transmitted as an attachment to an e-mail
• The system must allow authority to select authority designated users to receive each automated report.
5. Security
a. Encryption
• Data in the system must be encrypted by the most current encryption algorithms available when this contract is executed.
• Encryption algorithms must be updated over the course of this contract as more current encryption algorithms become available to the contractor.
b. Access control to system
• Each user must have a unique user id and password.
• System must allow access by an unlimited quantity of users with cta administrator having access to add or delete users
c. Access control to matters
• Authority must be able to control matter access, security and roles within matters by user and by organizational unit.
d. Access control to reporting
• The system must allow authority to designate authority users who can access the reporting function and separately designate the authority users who can create, generate or edit reports, respectively.
e. Access control to new matter creation
• The system must allow authority to designate authority users who can create new matters
f. Audit trail of data modifications
• The system will track all changes and entries made to material fields, including the user making the change and the date of the change
g. Failed login lockout
• The system must allow authority to specify the number of failed login attempts that will trigger a user’s lockout.
h. Inactivity logout
• The system will automatically shut down after 60 minutes of inactivity.
i. Disaster recovery
• The contractor must have a disaster recovery plan in place that ensures that authority data stored on contractor’s servers is backed up at another site.
- Contract Period/Term: 2 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: March 21, 2025