Also known as: RFPs · request for proposal · requests for proposals · request for proposals
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal solicitation issued by a government agency or other entity that invites qualified parties to submit detailed proposals for performing specified work or supplying services. The process typically evaluates submissions on criteria such as experience, expertise, cost, and qualifications rather than political considerations.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Alec learns that a city arts commissioner will form a panel to select outside counsel for a public investigation. His firm submits a proposal in response to the city's RFP while Alec simultaneously organizes a donation drive for the commissioner's reelection campaign. The timing and messaging linking contributions to the selection process raise questions whether the contributions were made to obtain the engagement.
After a county rezones a former social services site to R-T, it issues an RFP requiring any bid to meet a thirty-million-dollar minimum. A nonprofit housing developer analyzes the new zoning restrictions and concludes that building affordable units would be financially impossible at any price. The developer therefore cannot submit a qualifying proposal under the RFP terms.
A lawyer violates the rule when the contribution or solicitation would not have occurred but for the desire to obtain or be considered for a government legal engagement. Purpose is determined by examining all circumstances, including timing, targeting of donors connected to the matter, and whether the engagement followed a merit-based RFP process free from political influence.
Supporting sources
No. The rule contains an exception for engagements awarded on the basis of experience, expertise, professional qualifications, and cost following an RFP or similar process free from political contribution influence. If the facts show the contributions were made for the prohibited purpose, the exception does not apply even when an RFP was used.
Supporting sources
The test asks whether the lawyer or firm would have made or solicited the contributions but for the desire to obtain the engagement. A consistent pattern of prior contributions to the same candidate or aligned causes supports the conclusion that the contributions would have occurred regardless of the RFP opportunity.
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The rule excludes substantially uncompensated services, engagements awarded on merit following an RFP process free from political influence, and rotational appointments from a list compiled without regard to contributions. These exclusions preserve lawyers' ability to participate in the political process while protecting the appearance of merit-based selection.
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