R -- Commercial Law Advisors 2

1. The Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the United States Department of Commerce, Office of the General Counsel, is a technical assistance provider working on the development and implementation of laws and international agreements affecting trade and investment in over 35 countries worldwide including the Middle East and North Africa. CLDP is supporting the U.S. Government?s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) by providing technical assistance to a group of countries in the Middle East to improve their legislative and regulatory frameworks, and ultimately, to facilitate the region?s preparedness for the Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA). As trade and commerce increases in the Middle East and the countries in this region expand their presence in the global market, it is important that their business and legal professionals have knowledge and understanding of complex commercial law.The Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), an entity of the Department of Commerce specializing in technical assistance, will manage the program and share expertise with other USG agencies. The present Scope of Work describes the work to be performed by a Contractor in support of CLDP?s activities under the program. CLDP anticipates awarding purchase order contracts to commercial law advisors in order to assist the countries in the Middle East to develop laws that comply with international commercial law standards and raise the capacity of lawyers and judges in the Middle East to adjudicate those laws. These experts will travel to countries in the Middle East to implement commercial law education programs in those countries. 2. CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES In particular, the Contractor may be called upon by CLDP to do the following: 2.1 Conduct presentations and facilitate discussions on advanced commercial law topics at seminars and legislative drafting programs in the U.S. and the Middle East. 2.2 Provide assistance to government officials and business leaders on commercial law issues. 2.3 Coordinate in the US and abroad with CLDP legal staff and legal advisors regarding the implementation of judicial and commercial law programs, including assisting in the implementation of CLDP programs for judges, lawyers, law professors, and other jurists. 2.4 Draft progress reports and provide updates/information per CLDP/Washington office requests. 2.5 The Contractor must be willing travel to any of, but not limited to, the following countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Dates for such travel will be jointly agreed upon by CLDP and the Contractor. 3. FORCE MAJEURE In case of events beyond the control of the parties, CLDP and the Contractor will agree upon a new schedule and period of performance. The duration of this contract is from October 1 through July 31, 2008 with two one year option periods. The Government contemplates multiple awards of Requirements Contract, FAR 52.216-21, resulting from this RFQ. Vendor must be actively registered in the Central Contractors Registration, CCR, in accordance with 52.204-7. The solicitation notice and all amendments will be posted and available for viewing and downloading on the Government Electronic Posting System (FedBizOpps) site www.fedbizopps.gov or www.eps.gov. All responsible sources may submit a response which if timely received, must be considered by the Agency. No paper copies of solicitations or amendments will be issued. No telephone facsimile or written request for the solicitation will be accepted. When the solicitation is posted, it is incumbent upon the interested parties to review this site frequently for any updates/amendments to any and all documents. To ensure that you receive all information regarding this solicitation, please register to receive updates at www.fedbizopps.gov, and follow the procedures for notification registration. All questions regarding this pre-solicitation should be addressed to U.S. Department of Commerce, CAS, OS Business Solutions Team, Sol: SA13017RQ0042, 14th & Constitution Ave. N.W., Room 6521, Washington, DC 20230, Attn: Wendy Clare E-mail: contact@example.gov.