EM LawShare adds three law firms to next legal services framework amid soaring demand

EM LawShare, the largest public sector legal services consortium in the UK, has expanded its 2022-2026 framework to ten law firms amid an increase in members and rising levels of instructions.

The successful firms were:

  • Anthony Collins
  • Bevan Brittan
  • Browne Jacobson
  • Capsticks (new)
  • DWF (new)
  • Freeths
  • Geldards
  • Sharpe Pritchard
  • Trowers & Hamlins (new)
  • Weightmans

EM LawShare recently revised its estimate for the value of this new framework, which starts on 1 April 2022, up from £50m to £70m.

Last month it also issued an addendum notice saying that the spend for the current framework was expected to be £45m rather than £30m as originally estimated.

There are more than 230 members of the consortium - an increase of more than 90 since the commencement of the current four-year contract in 2018. 

The vast majority of EM Lawshare members are local authorities, however there are a large variety of other members including NHS Trusts, Fire & Rescue, Police ,University, National Park and Arm’s Length Management Organisations.

Heather Dickinson, chair of EM Lawshare, and Stuart Leslie, the consortium’s coordinator, said: “We’re delighted to have let our fifth framework contact in sixteen years during which time EM Lawshare has grown from 13 members to over 230 and become the largest consortium of its kind in the country. We have retained seven legal partners from our last contact and now welcome three new partners: Capsticks, DWF and Trowers & Hamlins.

“The new contact could be worth up to £70m and that spend will enable the partners to not only offer members very competitive rates but also an extensive added value offer including a training programme of over 60 tailor made webinars, a biennial conference and a dedicated website.”