Top firms to battle as UK gov’t sets up £650m legal services marketplace

The platform will have 35 practice sectors, including finance, infrastructure, and litigation

Top firms to battle as UK gov’t sets up £650m legal services marketplace
Top firms are expected to battle it out for a place in the £650m “Legal Services Marketplace” that the UK government has recently announced.

The establishment of the marketplace was announced by the Crown Commercial Service via a pre-tender notice published last week.

The government said that there are two commercial vehicle types – a “dynamic purchasing system” and a “dynamic purchasing framework” – being considered.

The vehicles cover the provision of a comprehensive range of commercial legal services to all UK public sector contracting bodies, central government departments, and their associated bodies, including devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Crown Commercial Service said.  It will also be used for procuring legal services for the wider public sector, including health and education bodies, local and regional government organisations, emergency services, and third sector organisations.

The government said that it will announce its choice of commercial vehicle after the results of in-depth market and customer consultations. The estimated date of publication of the contract notice is 30 November.

The government said that the marketplace will cover 38 “legal practice sectors” that have more than 75 smaller “practice areas.” These are:
  1. Administrative and public law: Inquiries, local government law, professional disciplinary procedures, public regulatory law
  2. Banking and finance: Acquisition finance, Islamic finance, project finance, restructuring / insolvency, loans / lending
  3. Charities
  4. Commercial contract law
  5. Commercial litigation
  6. Competition law
  7. Construction
  8. Data protection and information law: FOIA law, DPA law, EU regulation
  9. Dispute resolution
  10. Education law: Institutions, schools, and H&FE
  11. Employment law: Discrimination / equal opportunities, policy, TUPE
  12. Environment: Regulatory compliance, regulatory enforcement, climate change
  13. EU law
  14. Financial law services: Debt recovery
  15. Civil fraud: Asset tracing / freezing
  16. Health and safety law: Regulatory procedures, compliance, training, HASAW, waste
  17. IT law
  18. Infrastructure: PFI / PPP, infrastructure finance
  19. Intellectual property law
  20. Licensing law
  21. Litigation and dispute resolution: Personal injury claims, commercial property
  22. Media and entertainment
  23. Mediation services
  24. Outsourcing
  25. Partnerships: Corporate JVs, public service concessions, franchising
  26. Pensions Law: Regulations / regulatory frameworks, scheme mergers / de-mergers, restructuring, pensions litigation
  27. Planning: CPOs, JRs, divestment / sale
  28. Projects: Project finance, project partnering, strategic outsourcing
  29. Public Procurement: EU regulatory law, outsourcing / insourcing, contract drafting services
  30. Real estate: Landlord and tenant matters, leases, licenses and conveyancing, site development
  31. Real estate finance
  32. Real estate litigation
  33. Social housing
  34. Tax
  35. Telecommunications: Regulatory / compliance, spectrum sales / auctions, procurement
  36. Transport law: Road regulator, EIAs, operator licensing
  37. Travel law
  38. Law costs draftsman services

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