Fewer than half of firms retain place on £46m further education legal services panel

The Crescent Purchasing Consortium, which is owned by bodies in the further education sector, has named 20 law firms to its second legal services framework, which has been estimated to be worth up to £46m.

In January 2014 the CPC named 22 law firms to its first framework. Only eight of those providers have been appointed to the replacement framework.

There are 14 lots again on the second framework, with five firms appointed to the national one-stop shop (lot 14): Ashfords; Capsticks; Eversheds; Shoosmiths; and Weightmans.

The contract runs from 1 April 2018 to 1 April 2021, with a possible extension to 1 April 2022.

The agreement is for use by CPC members but also is available to all contracting authorities across the public sector throughout the UK.

Lot 1: East Anglia (estimated value: £4m)

• Weightmans
• Sharpe Pritchard
• Blake Morgan
• Michelmores
• Capsticks
• Eversheds

Lot 2: East Midlands (£4m)

• Blake Morgan
• Shoosmiths
• Weightmans
• Sharpe Pritchard
• Forbes Solicitors
• Rollits

Lot 3: London (£4m)

• Blake Morgan
• Invicta Law
• Shoosmiths
• Weightmans
• Sharpe Pritchard
• Ashfords

Lot 4: Northern Ireland (£2m)

• Eversheds
• Arthur Cox (Northern Ireland)
• Cleaver Fulton Rankin
• Carson McDowell
• King & Gowdy
• A&L Goodbody

Lot 5: North East England (£4m)

• Sharpe Pritchard
• Weightmans
• Blake Morgan
• Burnetts
• Watson Burton
• Shoosmiths

Lot 6: North West England (£4m)

• Blake Morgan
• Burnetts
• Watson Burton
• Weightmans
• Shoosmiths
• Sharpe Pritchard

Lot 7: Scotland (£1m)

• Weightmans
• Eversheds
• Shoosmiths

Lot 8: South East England (£4m)

• Blake Morgan
• Sharpe Pritchard
• Weightmans
• Shoosmiths
• Invicta Law
• Ashfords

Lot 9: South West England (£4m)

• Sharpe Pritchard
• Ashfords
• Michelmores
• Eversheds
• Weightmans
• Blake Morgan

Lot 10: Wales (£2m)

• Capital Law
• Blake Morgan
• Weightmans
• Eversheds
• Browne Jacobson
• Sharpe Pritchard

Lot 11: West Midlands (£4m)

• Weightmans
• Rollits
• Sharpe Pritchard
• Shoosmiths
• Blake Morgan
• Ashfords

Lot 12: Yorkshire (£4m)

• Sharpe Pritchard
• Watson Burton
• Ashfords
• Blake Morgan
• Shoosmiths
• Weightmans

Lot 13: Channel Islands (£1m)

• Michelmores
• Eversheds

Lot 14: National One-Stop Shop (£4m)

• Shoosmiths
• Ashfords
• Eversheds
• Capsticks
• Weightmans

The award criteria were quality (weighting: 65%) and price (weighting: 35%).