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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE PERIOD 18 AUGUST, 2024 to 31st JULY, 2026
I. GENERAL INFORMATION.
A. Purpose. This request for proposal (RFP) is to contract for Legal Services to be provided to NICO GENERAL Insurance Company Limited for the Period 1st August 2024 to 318* July 2026.
B. Who May Respond. Only Law Firms whose Principals are admitted to the Malawi Bar and are licensed to practice Law in Malawi will be considered.
C. Instructions on Proposal Submission.
3.Conditions of Proposal. All costs incurred in the preparation of a proposal responding to this RFP will be the responsibility of the Offeror and will not be reimbursed by NICO General.
4. Instructions to Prospective Applicants. Your proposal should be sent electronically, titled Proposal for Legal Services and should be addressed as follows to the email address:
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
NICO GENERAL INSURANCE
P. O. BOX 2592
BLANTYRE
tender@nicogeneral.com
Bids sent to any other e-mail address other than the one provided will not be considered.
5. Right to Reject. NICO General reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received in response to this RFP. A contract for the accepted proposals will be drafted based upon the factors described in this RFP.
7. Notification of Award. It is expected that a decision selecting the successful Firm of Firms will be made within four (4) weeks of the closing date for the receipt of proposals. Upon conclusion of final negotiations with the successful Firm or Firms, all successful Offerors submitting proposals in response to this Request for Proposal will be informed, in writing. It is expected that the contract shall be for three (3) years but subject to review every calendar year-end.
D. Description of Entity.
NICO General Insurance Company is a limited liability company offering short-term insurance in Malawi and is regulated by the Pensions and Insurance Supervision Unit of the Reserve Bank of Malawi. Part of its company strategy revolves around efficient handling of liability claims most of which come through litigation. NICO General Insurance Limited therefore needs a panel of Law Firms across the country to be handling its litigation for liability cases.
II. SCOPE OF SERVICES.
The Law Firms shall be readily available to perform the following legal services, as requested by the Company.
1. Represent the Company in Court
2. Draft commercial documents
3. Collect debt on behalf of the company
4. Conduct Subrogation
5. Any Other legal services as needed
III. PROPOSAL CONTENTS.
The Applicant, in its proposal, shall, as a minimum, include the following;
A. Legal Experience. The Applicant should describe its legal experience, including the names, addresses, contact persons, and telephone numbers of at least three traceable clients.
B. Organization, Size, Structure, and Areas of Practice. The Applicant should describe its organization, size, structure, areas of practice, and office location(s).
C. Attorney Qualifications. The Applicant should describe the qualifications of legal practitioners to be assigned to the representation of the Company and the office location. Descriptions should include:
1. Professional and education background of each legal practitioner.
2. Overall supervision to be exercised.
3. Prior experience of the individual legal practitioners with respect to the required experience listed above by including CVs of individual legal practitioners.
D. Price. The Applicants proposed billing structure whether a flat fee per file on a guaranteed number of files or the hourly rate of each legal practitioner who is expected to work on this representation and charges for disbursements, if any.
IV. PROPOSAL EVALUATION
A. Submission of Proposals.
a. All proposals shall be submitted in the manner specified and by the date indicated below.
b. The proposal should include a brief on how the Law Firm will help NICO General in its strategy to efficiently manage litigation liabilities.
B. Evaluation Procedure and Criteria
a. NICO General Company Limited through its internal procurement team will evaluate the proposals against the criteria set below:
1. Capacity – (25 %) – This will measure the Law Firm’s ability to competently handle the scope of work described above by looking at experience in Insurance litigation, number of personnel at the Firm including support staff, digitization aptitude and uptake, and education in Insurance.
2. Financial – (30 %) – This will measure the Law Firm’s value for money by gauging reasonableness of the billing proposal as well as its measure of predictability for stable modelling of insurance liability costs.
3. Ethical – (20 %) — This will measure the Law Firm’s (or partners’) ethical principles by looking at past history, current standing with Malawi Law Society, and if Firm has had an Ethics Policy and for how long.
4. Compliance – (15 %) – This will measure the Law Firm’s adherence to subsisting Laws of Malawi and various regulations e.g MLS Practising Certificates, MRA, Business Registration Certification, Law Firm Registration with MLS, City Business Permit.
Closing Day for receiving submissions is 31st July, 2024 at midnight.
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