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Terms of Reference (TOR) for Retainer - Legal Advisory Services
1. Who is the Danish Refugee Council?
Founded in 1956, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading international NGO and one of the few with specific expertise in forced displacement. Active in 40 countries with 9,000 employees and supported by 7,500 volunteers, DRC protects, advocates, and builds sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement-affected people and communities. DRC works during displacement at all stages: In the acute crisis, in displacement, when settling and integrating into a new place, or upon return. DRC provides protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance; supports displaced persons in becoming self-reliant and included in hosting societies; and works with civil society and responsible authorities to promote the protection of rights and peaceful coexistence.
DRC Regional office in Nairobi coordinates DRC work and presence in East Africa & Great Lakes (EAGL) which encompasses the following countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
2. Purpose of the consultancy
Danish Refugee Council (DRC) invites law firms to tender for the provision of legal services for a period of one year from 1 September 2023, with the option to extend by agreement for up to one further year. The specification of services to be provided is at section 4 and the criteria by which bids will be evaluated is at Section 12 of this document.
3. Background
Tenders are sought for the provision of legal advice for DRC EAGL Regional Office. We are looking to establish a strong relationship with a legal adviser, who will support the Regional Office in providing guidance and ensuring compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements. The legal adviser will also provide training sessions for relevant groups of staff, where needed, on key legal developments that impact the workplace practices from time to time.
The legal firm must have a diverse team who have the knowledge and experience in different legal aspects. The firm must also assign one designated lawyer that would have the necessary experience in most of the areas of expertise mentioned further below to handle the DRC account. The legal firm is considered as a service provider and is expected to assign an account manager to DRC who will coordinate all the legal requests from DRC. The terms and scope of the contract will be governed by the laws of the Republic of Kenya.
4. The objective of the consultancy
Tenders are sought for the provision of legal advice for DRC EAGL Regional Office. The specific scope of work in contained below.
Scope of Work and Methodology
Specific areas of work include the following:
- Review of DRC’s current Employment, Tenancy, Supplier and other existing contracts;
- Drafting and/or preparation of new agreements for DRC regarding its businesses;
- Advice on staffing and employment law, employer’s obligations and any disputes;
- Advice on issues arising from commercial contracts and/or lease terms, if required;
- Advice in relation to any actual litigation or prospective litigation;
- Liaising with auditors and evaluators, if required;
- Advise on the application of work permits and other relevant statutory documents;
- Providing general legal advice on any other issues that might arise affecting DRC’s work;
- Procurement advise in preparing terms of reference for competitive tenders;
- Assistance in relation to criminal proceedings relating to DRC and DRC staff in the course of employment;
- Advice on legal issues involving refugees, IDPs and other persons of concern;
- Support with registration matters;
- Legal advice on matters that arise from imposition of taxes, fines, penalties and other necessary expenses by the revenue authorities;
- Attestation of documents, witnessing, commissioning and notarizing of documents;
- Training/ sensitization sessions for relevant groups of staff, where needed, on key legal developments that impact the workplace practices from time to time.
5. Deliverables
The legal firm will commit to the following outputs: -
- Timely drafting of legal documents.
- Quarterly reports to the Regional Senior Management Team.
- Reporting on basic research requested about different laws and regulations that may affect DRC operations.
- Timely and professional provision of legal advice and guidance.
6. Duration, timeline, and payment
The contract is for one year from the date of contract signing, but may be extended by agreement for up to one further year. The award of the contract does not guarantee any work and we reserve the right to procure other legal support during the Term if deemed necessary by the Senior Management Team.
The Law firm shall quote its monthly retainer fees for the provision of the above services mentioned in Section 4. Bidders are asked to provide cost-effective hourly rates for delivering the services specified in this document. As an INGO, our donors are looking for a focus on value for money.
Without prejudice to the retainer fees, DRC will in addition agree on commensurate fees with the lawyer on a pre-agreed client-lawyer scale for the following services: -
- For acting in any proceedings before any Court of Law, Arbitration Panel, Tribunal or Legal Body, such reasonable fees as are consistent with the continuing relationship.
- For the recovery of debt on behalf of DRC.
- The Law firm shall quote the hourly rates for the above listed services (which are not included in the retainer fee).
We will pay all invoices within 30 days of receipt, provided that the services to which the invoice relates have been performed fully in accordance with the contract.
7. Proposed composition of team
Firms must demonstrate that they have the staff capacity to provide the range of services required, and that we will have regular access to a key contact person, details of whom should be provided. Eligible legal firms should have staff team(s)with the following qualifications and experience: -
- Law degree with specialization in contract law, employment law or related field;
- Relevant current legal practicing license;
- Qualification as a Notary Public and Commissioner for Oaths;
- At least ten years relevant experience in providing legal services at least five
- (5) of which should be in the area of contract and employment law;
- Familiarity with, as well as experience in providing legal services to, international non-governmental organizations;
- Excellent communication and presentation skills; and
- Experience providing legal services in Kenya and other East African countries.
8. Eligibility, qualification, and experience required
Eligible legal firms should have the following qualifications and experience:
- At least 7 years’ collective experience in providing legal advice in employment law, employment and any litigation issues in this regard in Kenya and/or East Africa.
- Experience with a minimum 2 clients (previous or ongoing), in providing legal advice to non-profit, INGO or development organizations that have global presence and international operations.
- At least 5 years’ collective experience in providing support with audit correspondences, advising on commercial contracts and leases, and tax laws advisory services.
- Eligibility of the team comprising of staff with Degree in Law, and combined specializations in the fields of employment law, contract law, tax law and criminal law as detailed in the team composition above.
9. Technical supervision
The selected consultant will work under the supervision of:
- Regional HR and Administration Manager
- Regional Head of Support Services
10. Location and support
Danish Refugee Council Regional Office in Nairobi
11. Travel
The Consultant is expected to work in the specified location. Transport to and from the DRC Regional Office, Nairobi, will be catered by the Consultant.
12. Evaluation of bids
Bidders must be fully accredited full-service law firms, with an appropriate level of professional indemnity insurance, details of which should be provided. Firms must demonstrate that they have the capacity to provide the range of services required, and that we will have regular access to a key contact person, details of whom should be provided.
Subject to satisfying the above pre-conditions, the contract will then be awarded to the firm whose bid achieves the highest score. Bids will be evaluated using the award criteria and scoring principles set out in the Request for Proposal (RFP) attached.
13. Submission of proposal
Eligible Legal Firms should submit technical and financial proposals in electronic format. Proposals should include inter alia:
- Company profile, including the organization size, structure, areas of practice, and office location(s)
- Company incorporation certificate, list of directors, valid professional licenses and tax compliance certificate.
- Understanding of the requirement, ability and availability to provide the services.
- Evidence of your firm’s relevant specialist expertise.
- CV and details of a contact person and how you manage client relationships.
- CV and details of the rest of the proposed team, their roles, experience and track record.
- Statement of relevant experience i.e. similar assignments executed in/under execution in the last five years;
- 3 recommenders/ references, including company names, contact persons, phone numbers and emails, preferably with similar profile and from the non-profit /NGO sectors.
- Financial quotation in accordance to Section 6 of this document.
Tender documents should be limited to a maximum of 16 pages of A4, with consultant CVs and company registration documents excluded from the page limit.
Where to find the Solicitation Documents following link: RFP-RO01-002365_Legal Services procurement
All questions during the tender period, as well as the associated answers, will be accessed by all suppliers through the following link: Questions Answers template_RFQ-RO01-002365.docx
Tender documents should be submitted in electronic format to :tender.ro01@drc.ngo by 31st August 2023 5.00pm East Africa Time.
How to apply
Bids can be submitted by email to the following dedicated, controlled, & secure email address:
tender.ro01@drc.ngo
When Bids are emailed, the following conditions shall be complied with:
The RFP number shall be inserted in the Subject Heading of the email
Separate emails shall be used for the ‘Financial Bid’ and ‘Technical Bid’, and the Subject Heading of the email shall indicate which type the email contains- The financial bid shall only contain the financial bid form, Annex A.2 or vendors financial bid in own format
- The technical bid shall contain all other documents required by the tender, but excluding all pricing information
Bid documents required, shall be included as an attachment to the email in PDF, JPEG, TIF format, or the same type of files provided as a ZIP file. Documents in MS Word or excel formats, will result in the bid being disqualified.
- Email attachments shall not exceed 4MB; otherwise, the bidder shall send his bid in multiple emails.
Failure to comply with the above may disqualify the Bid.
DRC is not responsible for the failure of the Internet, network, server, or any other hardware, or software, used by either the Bidder or DRC in the processing of emails.
Bids will be submitted electronically. DRC is not responsible for the non-receipt of Bids submitted by email as part of the e-Tendering process.
Confidentiality
All information presented, obtained, and produced is to be treated as DRC’s property and is considered confidential for all other purposes than what is outlined in the ToR. Upon signing the contract, the selected consultant will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. The material prepared by the consultant cannot be sold, used, or reproduced in any manner (partially or in full) by the consultant without prior permission from DRC.
Additional information
For additional information regarding these terms of reference, please send your questions to Regional Supply Chain Manager EAGL RO: Procurement.ro01@drc.ngo
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