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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