Agenda Item
i. RFP 26-720 Employment Matter Legal Services/Agreements with Law Firms (Not to Exceed $850,000)
Summary: Presented by: Mr. H. Eric Hilton, Chief Legal Officer, Office of Legal Affairs
Request: It is requested that the DeKalb County Board of Education (“Board”) approve the contract Award for RFP 26-720 for the following law firms:
1. Denmark Ashby Matricardi LLC;
2. Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP; and
3. The Employment Law Solution, LLC.
Why: The DeKalb County School District (“District”) requires sound legal advice on various issues related to employment matters. Therefore, it is prudent for the District to retain a panel of law firms that are available to represent the District on an as-needed basis and based on the specific legal needs of the District. The approval of employment matter legal service providers will enable the District to continue the efficient provision of legal services for employment matters on an as-needed basis.
Details: This request is pursuant to the District’s Request for Proposal (“RFP”) 26-720, entitled Employment Matters Legal Services. That RFP noted that the selected law firms will be expected to provide advice to the District, during business and non-business hours, in the areas of employment, fair dismissal, and non-renewal. The RFP stated 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 District without undue delay.
With the approval of the District’s Procurement Department, RFP 26-720 was properly posted to required sources and provided to a number of local legal associations. The following is a summary of the additional sourcing efforts for RFP 26-720:
1. Posted to IonWave on January 22, 2026;
2. Advertised in the Champion Newspaper on January 22, 2026, and January 29, 2026;
3. Electronic notification was sent to 13 vendors from the District’s Vendor Bid List;
4. Electronic notification was sent to 453 vendors through the State of Georgia Procurement Registry; and
5. Electronic notification was sent to 759 vendors through IonWave.
In response to the solicitation, seven (7) proposals were received by the February 19, 2026, deadline, and six (6) proposals were deemed responsive. These responsive proposals were:
1. Denmark Ashby Matricardi, LLC;
2. Drew Eckl & Farnham, LLP;
3. Fox Rothchild, LLP;
4. Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP;
5. Sanders Roberts LLP; and
6. The Employment Law Solution, LLC.
RFP 26-720 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 March 19, 2026, to discuss the law firms that submitted proposals, score each law firm and recommend legal service vendors to provide employment matter legal services to the District. After discussion, the evaluation committee recommended that the following law firms be approved to provide employment matter legal services to the District on an as-needed basis:
1. Denmark Ashby Matricardi, LLC;
2. Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP; and
3. The Employment Law Solution, LLC.
Financial impact: $850,000
The account code from which the expense will be paid is 100.2300.530002.00011.7080.9990.8010.080.0000
Contact: Mr. H. Eric Hilton, Chief Legal Officer, Office of Legal Affairs, 678.676.0159
Mr. Glinton R. Darien, Jr., Director of Legal Affairs, Office of Legal Affairs, 678.676.0403
Effective: Upon Board Approval
Status: Approved by the Office of Legal Affairs
March 18, 2026, Page 1 of 2
RE: Award Recommendation Letter – RFP 26-720 Employment Matters Legal Services
Greetings Mr. Eric Hilton,
RFP 26-720, Employment Matters Legal Services was formally processed through the Procurement
Department at your request. Response(s) to the solicitation were received in the Procurement
Department on February 19, 2026.
Seven (7) proposals were received and six (6) were 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
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP__
Recommended Award Vendor #2
________________________________
Your Signature / Today’s Date
The Employment Law Solution, LLC __
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\SMA
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