Crown Commercial Service selects 19 firms for £430m legal services framework
The Crown Commercial Service has appointed nineteen law firms to a legal services framework worth an estimated £430m over four years.
The contract is divided into the following two lots:
- General Legal Advice and Services
- Financial and Complex Legal Services.
In an unusual move, Sharpe Pritchard, Bevan Brittan and Howes Percival made a joint bid for one of the slots on Lot 1 of the framework, which will provide legal advice to government departments and their agencies.
The successful firms for Lot 1 were:
- Addleshaw Goddard
- Browne Jacobson
- Burges Salmon
- DAC Beachcroft (1)
- Dentons UK & Middle East
- DLA Piper UK
- DWF Law
- Gowling WLG (UK)
- Mills & Reeve LLP
- Pinsent Masons LLP
- Sharpe Pritchard LLP in consortium with Bevan Brittan and Howes Percival
- TLT
The chosen firms for Lot 2 were:
- Ashurst
- Dentons UK and Middle East
- DLA Piper UK
- Eversheds Sutherland
- Hogan Lovells
- Simmons & Simmons
- Slaughter and May
Areas of law covered by the contract include competition, contracts, outsourcing, public procurement, real estate and intellectual property amongst others.
The contract was awarded late last month and will run until 29 November 2024.
Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring commons goods and services.
Commenting on the consortium approach, Justin Mendelle, Senior Partner at Sharpe Pritchard, said: “We are delighted to continue delivering outstanding client services to our central government client base. Our focus remains squarely on the public sector and the consortium gives central government direct access to the combined strength and depth of our three firms.
“We have complementary strengths, each bringing our distinctive expertise to the table and giving central government bodies access to teams and individual lawyers who recognised as leaders in their fields."
David Hutton, Partner and Head of Central and Local Government at Bevan Brittan, said: “The consortium approach is one which will allow government departments to access the knowledge and experience of all three firms who are focused and invested in working with the central and local government sector. It is fantastic for all three firms and shows the benefit in our innovative, collaborative approach.”
Howes Percival chairperson, Geraint Davies, said: “We are delighted to be appointed once again to this Central Government panel. The successful bid, led at Howes Percival by partner Morris Peacock, is a fantastic accolade which is testament to the quality and depth of the legal services we provide."
Adam Carey