Agenda Item
i. RFP 26-718 Board Attorney Legal Services/Law Firm Agreement ~ Added 2.6.2026
Summary: Presented by: Mr. Glinton R. Darien, Jr., Director of Legal Affairs, Division of Legal Services
Request: It is requested that the DeKalb County Board of Education (“Board”) select a law firm to serve as the attorney for the Board, pursuant to RFP 26-718, entitled Board Attorney Legal Services.
Why: The Board requires sound legal advice on various issues. Therefore, it is prudent for the Board to retain a law firm they determine to best represent its interests. The approval of a law firm will enable the DeKalb County School District (“District”) to continue the efficient provision of legal services for Board Attorney.
Details: This request is pursuant to the District’s Request for Proposal (“RFP”) 26-718, entitled Board Attorney Legal Services. That RFP noted that the selected law firm will be expected to provide advice to the Board during business and non-business hours. The selected law firm would also attend scheduled and called meetings of the Board when requested. The RFP mentioned that various issues arise during the course of business involving matters that will require guidance and advice from legal counsel. Because such services, at times, represent emergency situations, legal counsel will be expected to return a telephone call, or email, to the Board without undue delay.
The following is a summary of the sourcing efforts for RFP 26-718:
Posted to IonWave on November 13, 2025;
Advertised in the Champion Newspaper on November 13, 2025, and November 20, 2025;
Electronic notification was sent to 13 vendors from the District’s Vendor Bid List;
Electronic notification was sent to 401 vendors through the State of Georgia Procurement Registry; and
Electronic notification was sent to 751 vendors through ionWave.
In response to the solicitation, four (4) proposals were received by the December 18, 2025, deadline, and four (4) proposals were deemed responsive. These proposals were:
C. McKinley Law & Associates;
Denmark Ashby Matricardi, LLC;
Hall Booth Smith, PC;
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP.
RFP 26-718 provides that the contract for legal services will contain four (4) one-year extension options. Therefore, an evaluation committee was formed to review the proposals. The members of the evaluation committee met on January 9, 2026, to discuss the law firms that submitted a proposal, score each law firm, and decide which law firms would be interviewed. After that discussion, the evaluation committee interviewed the following law firms on January 15, 2026:
Denmark Ashby Matricardi, LLC;
Hall Booth Smith, PC; and
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP.
On January 30, 2026, the evaluation committee met to discuss the interviews and to rank the law firms. The final rankings are:
Denmark Ashby Matricardi, LLC;
Hall Booth Smith; and
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein
Financial impact: The account code from which the expense will be paid is 100.2300.530002.00011.7080.9990.8010.080.0000.
Contact: Mr. Glinton R. Darien, Jr., Director of Legal Affairs, Division of Legal Services, 678- 676-0403.
Effective: February 13, 2026
Status: Approved by the Office of Legal Affairs
January 30, 2026 Page 1 of 2
RE: Award Recommendation Letter – RFP 26-718 Board Attorney Legal Services
Greetings Mr. Eric Hilton,
RFP 26-718, Board Attorney Legal Services was formally processed through the Purchasing Department at
your request. Response(s) to the solicitation were received in the Purchasing Department on December
18, 2025.
Four (4) proposals were received and deemed responsive to the requirements of the solicitation. Please
find attached the responsive proposals and the Abstract Sheet, which is the record of the public
opening/acknowledgement.
Please take the following course of action:
1) Convene the evaluation team. Remember that each individual serving as an evaluator must have a
completed and signed Solicitation Evaluator Agreement on file in the Purchasing Department. Your
team will work together to review and evaluate elements of each response in comparison to the
solicitation requirements.
2) Using this form, please advise the Purchasing Department as soon as possible of your award
recommendation(s) and the date you anticipate presenting your recommendation of award to the
Board of Education for approval.
REMINDER: Include the entire bid/rfp number and bid/rfp name in your Board of
Education item documentation so that we can later match the resulting Superintendent’s award
directive to your solicitation and produce an award letter.
3) If your Recommended Award Vendor is not the lowest priced offering, you must provide the
Purchasing Department your rationale for not awarding to the lowest responsive respondent. Use
an additional sheet to provide your rationale.
4) If there is only one line item on the solicitation or if there are multiple line items recommended for
award and to a single Award Vendor, simply fill in the information below for Recommended Award
Vendor #1.
5) If there are multiple line items to be awarded and/or if you recommend splitting the award to
multiple Award Vendors, you will need to fill in the name for each Recommended Award Vendor on
the lines below and attach the Tabulation indicating which items are to be awarded to each
Recommended Award Vendor.
Robert R. Freeman Administrative Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd | Stone Mountain, GA 30083
678.676.0110 | www.dekalbschoolsga.org
Page 2 of 2
6) Upon receipt of your award recommendation(s), the Purchasing Department will notify the Risk
Department of your award recommendation and contact the vendor(s) to request final and fully
compliant insurance certificates prior to issuance of the award letter and prior to commencement
or delivery of services under this solicitation.
Please email to Mr. Weyman Christopher at Weyman_F_Christopher@dekalbschoolsga.org .
Denmark Ashby Matricardi LLC __
Recommended Award Vendor #1
________________________________
Anticipated BOE Presentation Date
_______________________________
Recommended Award Vendor #2
________________________________
Your Signature / Today’s Date
_______________________________
Recommended Award Vendor #3
_______________________________
Recommended Award Vendor #4
_______________________________
Recommended Award Vendor #5
Please feel free to reach out to me at 678 676-0120 with any questions or concerns. Your prompt response
is appreciated. Thank you.
Regards,
Carla L. Smith
Carla L. Smith
Executive Director, Vendor Services
CLS\WFC
Attachment – Proposal(s)
c: Mr. Glinton Darien
Robert R. Freeman Administrative Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd | Stone Mountain, GA 30083
678.676.0110 | www.dekalbschoolsga.org