General Optical Council names three firms to £500k legal services panel

The General Optical Council has named three law firms to a legal services panel worth an estimated £500,000.

The requirements of the service are:

1. Conduct of investigative work on the GOC’s behalf in relation to fitness to practise allegations;
2. Preparation for, and presentation of, the GOC’s case at substantive Fitness to Practise Committee hearings;
3. Occasional preparation for, and presentation of the GOC’s case at non-substantive hearings (interim order applications/reviews/extensions, substantive order reviews) and registration appeal committee hearings;
4. Provision of advice relating to the conduct of individual investigations into the fitness to practise of GOC registrants and also relating to interpretation of GOC legislation/Rules;
5. Provision of training to council members, committee members, case examiners and staff.

The successful firms were:

• Kingsley Napley.
• Capsticks.
• CMS.

The contract was awarded on the basis of case management (weighting: 20), credibility and track record (weighting: 20), quality and range of legal services (weighting: 10), understanding of GOC needs (weighting: 10) and cost (weighting: 40).