NITA Training BPA

INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE National Institute for Trial Advocacy, SS-CFPB-17-045 The Bureau of the Fiscal Service (FS), on behalf of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) intends to establish a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) on a sole source basis under FAR Authority 13.5 for NITA's Building Trial Skills, Deposing the Expert Witness, Deposition and Negotiation Skills & Ethics training sessions. The following requirements apply to all training sessions: - The training must be held in Washington, D.C., Berkley, CA, or San Francisco, CA based on BPA Order request. - Training should be available through publically-offered classes held at a law school or other public venue and custom classes to be held at a location approved by CFPB - The instructor(s) must be highly experienced litigators (such as judges, law professors, and experienced civil law litigators) with significant federal court experience, including experience and expertise in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence, and with actual U.S. District Court trial experience Individual training session requirements: Building Trial Skills training in how to conduct trials in accordance with the federal rules of evidence and procedure. - Training must provide instruction in the areas of trial advocacy, persuasion, and communication; and verbal, non-verbal, and visual communication techniques while practicing the art of thinking and communicating on one's feet, without notes; - The training must include a full mock federal civil jury trial with mock jurors provided by the vendor who will provide feedback to the students following the mock trial; - The instructor(s) must have experience and expertise in the presentation of evidence in the courtroom, delivery of opening and closing statements, and direct and cross examination of witnesses; - Training must contain learn by doing, hands-on exercises during the training sessions, which focus on: - Opening statements and closing arguments - Impeachment - Direct and cross-examinations - Admission and use of substantive exhibits and illustrative aids - Making and meeting objections - Case strategy - Training must provide exercises for participants that are video-taped and critiqued; and - Learning-by-doing exercises must be supplemented by innovative lectures and trial demonstrations by the instructor(s). Deposing the Expert Witness training in areas that involve preparing cases for litigation in federal courts. - The training must provide a strategic process to gather information in a deposition. To include a list of topics that needs to be learned or confirmed by the witness during the deposition process; - Training must provide instruction on deposing expert witnesses, using actual experts who pose as witnesses and are trained in the case file's subject matter; - The instructor(s) must be highly experienced litigators (such as judges, law professors, and experienced civil law litigators) with significant federal court experience, including experience and expertise in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence, and with actual U.S. District Court trial experience; - The instructor(s) must have experience and expertise in the presentation of evidence in the courtroom, and conducting depositions, including depositions of expert witnesses and defending expert witness depositions; - Training must provide instruction on how to exhaust an expert's opinions using focused questions and careful analysis of the answers; - Training must provide a learning-by-doing method where students work on deposition techniques that help an expert disclose each of their opinions and the bases for those opinions; - Training must provide mock deposition exercises and are video-taped and critiqued by the instructor(s); and - Training must provide students the opportunity to meet with the expert witness to prepare for the opposing deposition. Deposition Skills training in how to conduct and defend depositions in accordance with the federal rules of evidence and procedure. - The training must provide a strategic process to gather information in a deposition; - Training must provide instruction on preparing witnesses for deposition, including how to avoid pitfalls; how to get the information needed for the trial; and how to secure admissions from the opposition; - The training must provide instruction on how to defend depositions; - The instructor(s) must have experience and expertise in the use of deposition evidence in the courtroom; - The training must provide lectures and demonstrations that provide a solid base of knowledge and familiarity with deposition practice; - The training must teach the students how to exhaust a witness's subject knowledge, identify other potential sources of information, close off avenues of escape work with documents and exhibits to gather information, refresh memory, and impeach test potential theories; - The training must provide instruction on how to deal with opposing counsel's objections and, how to manage difficult witnesses; and - The training must provide exercises where students performing a series of simulated depositions and witness preparation exercises, with personalized coaching to help immediately improve the students'' skills. Negotiation Skills & Ethics Training will include understanding models of negotiation, problem solving, and strategies for gaining and disclosing information. The course will provide a strategic and integrated approach to negotiations. - Training to be held in Washington, D.C. at the Office of Enforcement, 1625 I Street, NW; - The instructor(s) must be highly experienced litigators (such as judges, law professors, and experienced civil law litigators) with significant federal court experience, including experience and expertise in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence, and with actual complex high-dollar civil litigation negotiation experience; - The training must provide lectures and demonstrations that include information on negotiation style and strategies, tools and techniques, how to deal with difficult opposing counsel, and ethical issues; - The training must provide case file exercises that students use in conducting simulated mock negotiations; and - Following mock exercises, instructor(s) will critique the students. NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE. This synopsis is for information purposes only. A request for more information will not be considered an affirmative response to this Special Notice. Telephone responses or inquiries to this Special Notice will NOT be accepted. FS will consider written responses received no later than 10:00 am ET 10 May 2017. Responses must be submitted electronically to purchasing@fiscal.treasury.gov Attn: D.Holbert / CGropp. Responses must include sufficient evidence that clearly shows the vendor has training sessions, covering the same audience and content, within the venues. If no written response is received that clearly demonstrates an ability to meet all requirements, is more advantageous to the Government, and is received by the aforementioned deadline, FS shall make award on a sole source basis to NITA. Qualified contractors must provide the following: 1. The name and location of your company, contact information, and identify your business size (Large Business, Small Business, Disadvantaged Business, 8(a), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, HubZone, etc.). Please ensure contact information includes the name of the point of contact, email address, and telephone number should the Government have questions regarding individual responses. 2. A narrative description of how your training sessions meet all of the characteristics of the NITA training sessions. 3. DUNS Number. The following file extensions are not allowable and application materials/data submitted with these extensions cannot be considered: .bat, .cmd, .com, .exe, .pif, .rar, .scr, .vbs, .hta, .cpl, and .zip files. Microsoft Office compatible documents are acceptable. No other information regarding this Special Notice will be provided at this time. This notice does not restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. All firms responding to this notice are advised that their response is not a request that will be considered for award. All interested parties will be required to respond to any resultant solicitation separately from their response to this notice.