Essex Legal Services joins nine firms on ACSeS Southern Branch contract

The Southern Branch of the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSeS) has appointed Essex Legal Services and nine law firms to a new, significantly expanded legal services call-off contract.

The contract involves 31 local authorities, comprising county councils, unitary authorities and shire districts in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire.

This is the second time ACSeS’ Southern branch has put a call-off contract in place. The first contract, which lasted for four years, involved 16 local authorities in the south of England. Some £3.79m of legal work was commissioned through that contract.

The successful organisations this time were:

• Ashfords
• Bevan Brittan
• Davitt Jones Bould
• Essex Legal Services
• Michelmores
• Pannone
• Sharpe Pritchard
• Veale Wasbrough Vizards
• Wansbroughs
• Weightmans

Howard Bone, chair of ACSeS Southern Branch and Head of Legal Services at Winchester City Council, said: “This is a great example of local authorities working together to maximise purchasing power and securing value for money.”