Updated: Sept. 13, 2024

Request for Proposals: Washington Appellate Public Defense Workload Study


The Washington State Bar Association is requesting proposals from qualified vendors to assist in determining appropriate workload standards for public defense providers of indigent legal representation in criminal and certain civil appeals for which a statutory right to counsel applies in Washington state.

The WSBA seeks to procure a vendor's services to conduct a study to be used as a basis for updating numerical caseload/workload standards for attorneys providing public defense representation in criminal and civil appeals in Washington courts. Funding for the study will be provided by the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD). WSBA will oversee the study and the selected vendor will work in consultation with WSBA at all stages of the study, including conducting the study itself. The study must result in production of recommended caseload standards for indigent defense providers.

Qualified vendors may include, but are not limited to, private sector firms, not-for-profit organizations, and public or private institutions such as universities or colleges with expertise in conducting research similar to the research described in Sections 4 and 5 of the RFP.

The RFP outlines the terms and conditions, and all applicable information required for submission of a proposal. Proposers should pay strict attention to the proposal submission deadline to prevent disqualification. To ensure compliance with these requirements and to prevent possible disqualification, Proposers should follow the format and instructions contained in this document.

RFP Key Dates

A contract is expected to be awarded in response to this RFP based on the following schedule.

Timeline for Request for Proposals*

  • RFP Release: Sept. 20, 2024
  • Questions Due: Oct. 4, 2024
  • Questions Answered by: Oct. 11, 2024
  • Proposal Due: Nov. 1, 2024
  • Award Announcement: Nov. 22, 2024
  • Tentative Contract Start: TBD by the WSBA and Bidder, but no later than Feb. 1, 2025

*WSBA reserves the right to change any of the dates stated in this RFP. If such change occurs, WSBA will notify all bidders who received the RFP.

Answers to Questions Received Regarding RFP

Forthcoming