Publicly-owned utility appoints five law firms to multi-million pound panels

Scottish Water, the publicly-owned utility, has named five law firms to different panels worth several million pounds over the life of the contracts.

The company has appointed:

• CMS Cameron McKenna and DLA Piper to provide corporate legal services on a contract worth £3m.
• Anderson Strathern and BLM to provide litigation services on a contract worth £1.2m. These services are to manage in conjunction with Scottish Water's claims handling framework partner any employers' liability or public liability claims lodged against Scottish Water. Advice will also be delivered in relation to recovery of costs incurred by Scottish Water arising from damage to its infrastructure.
• Anderson Strathern and Lindsays to provide volume conveyancing services on a contract worth £900,000. These services were being delivered through three outsourcing agreements with three legal providers that expired on 31 March 2015.

Anderson Strathern was recently appointed sole legal adviser by Midlothian Council to a joint working arrangement worth £2.4m over five years.