Private Individuals

B-417855 Nov 21, 2019 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Ronald L. Glass protests the terms of solicitation No. PSC-19-060-INL, issued by the Department of State (DoS), Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), for a personal services contractor to serve as the Justice Advisor in San Jose, Costa Rica. The protester contends that the terms of the solicitation requiring applicants to have a law degree from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and two years of work experience as a lawyer or judge are unduly restrictive of competition. We deny the protest. View Decision Decision Matter of:  Ronald L. Glass File:  B-417855 Date:  November 21, 2019 Ronald L. Glass, for the protester. Tudo N. Pham, Esq., Department of State, for the agency. Andrew J. Smith, Esq., and Amy B. Pereira, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging the terms of the solicitation as unduly restrictive of competition is denied where the agency has demonstrated that the requirements for a personal services contractor to have a law degree and legal work experience is reasonably necessary to meet the agency’s needs. DECISION Ronald L. Glass protests the terms of solicitation No. PSC-19-060-INL, issued by the Department of State (DoS), Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), for a personal services contractor to serve as the Justice Advisor in San Jose, Costa Rica.  The protester contends that the terms of the solicitation requiring applicants to have a law degree from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school and two years of work experience as a lawyer or judge are unduly restrictive of competition.  We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On July 22, 2019, DoS issued a solicitation that contemplated the award of a personal services contract for a U.S. citizen to serve as the Justice Advisor to support INL’s mission in Costa Rica.[1]  Agency Report (AR), Tab 4, Solicitation (Sol.) at 1.  INL’s mission is to “keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad.”  Id. at 4.  As part of this mission, INL “helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and correction systems.”  Id.  The successful Justice Advisor applicant will serve as INL’s senior rule of law expert within Costa Rica, providing comprehensive technical support and training to various justice sector programs.  Id. at 5-6.  The resulting personal services contract would be for a 1-year base period, with four 1-year option periods.  Id. at 7.  The solicitation details the duties and responsibilities of the Justice Advisor, which include facilitating “high-level interagency coordination among elements of the U.S. Embassy, Costa Rican Law enforcement agencies, Justice Sector support services, NGOs [Non-Governmental Organizations], and other participating agencies.”  Id. at 5.  Relevant to this protest, the solicitation requires the Justice Advisor to be responsible for “mentoring and training legal practitioners” and “legal education promotion.”  Id. at 5.  The solicitation states that the Justice Advisor will “serve as a resource to other SMS [Subject Matter Specialists] program managers” and will be “frequently called upon to perform other tasks or duties on an ad hoc basis, particularly those requiring strong drafting skills or legal analysis.”  Id. at 6.  The solicitation contains ten minimum qualifications for the Justice Advisor position, including the two qualifications at issue here that require applicants to have a law degree from an ABA-accredited law school and two years of work experience as an attorney or judge.  Id. at 7.  The solicitation was amended once to extend the closing date for receipt of applications from August 5 to August 15 at 3:00 p.m.  AR, Tab 8, amend to Sol. at 1.  Prior to the solicitation closing, the protester requested that the agency amend the solicitation’s minimum qualifications to allow non-lawyers with relevant rule of law and justice sector experience to compete.  Protest at 2, 8.  On August 14, DoS denied the protester’s request.  Protest at 3.  After receiving the agency’s decision, the protester filed this protest with our Office on August 15 prior to the 3:00 p.m. closing time. DISCUSSION The protester challenges the terms of the solicitation, arguing that the minimum Justice Advisor qualifications are unduly restrictive of competition and are not reasonably necessary to meet the agency’s needs.[2]  Protest at 3.  The protester contends that there is little correlation between being a lawyer with two years of legal work experience and successful performance of this Justice Advisor requirement.  Id.