Osborne Clarke’s regulated procurement team has been built around specialist talent, repeat clients and first class contentious and advisory credentials. The team, led by Catherine Wolfenden, one of the leading public procurement lawyers and specialist public procurement litigators in the UK, expertly handle non-contentious and contentious matters, with a notable specialism in procurement disputes. The practice has tremendous experience in transport, defence, energy, supply to the NHS, technology and telecoms.
Our involvement in some of the top procurement cases of recent years positions us as the go-to firm on major complex projects and procurement litigation, reinforcing our reputation for attracting the market’s most important and innovative matters.
We know that reciting the law is not practical or efficient. Instead we work with clients to really understand their businesses and the industries they operate in, so we can provide:
- Swift, pragmatic options on procurement risks and challenges
- Practical commercial guidance on compliance
- Invaluable extras, including training and legal updates
- Cost certainty
How we can help
- Designing a procurement and market engagement
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- Advising on conducting open market engagement and consultations with suppliers on pipeline procurements
- Advising on strategy and procurement documents for compliance with procurement law
- Providing advice and guidance in relation to legislative changes, including the upcoming Procurement Act
- Drafting contract notices and prior information notices
- Advising on qualification systems and dynamic purchasing systems
- Advising on choosing an appropriate procedure
- Assisting with the development of pre-qualification and tender documentation
- Designing effective evaluation models including pricing models
- Running a procurement procedure
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- Legal advice on risk and compliance throughout the procurement
- Advising on the procurement and use of framework agreements
- Excluding bidders – must you exclude or can you choose?
- Responding to clarification questions
- Running dialogue/negotiation meetings
- Supporting with providing effective and compliant evaluator training
- Applying the scoring methodology and evaluation criteria
- Drafting award decision notices and standstill letters
- Ensuring record keeping is compliant with regulations
- Supporting reviews of procurement processes
- Supporting on Subsidy Control, including in relation to changes in the UK regime
- Providing stakeholder management and governance (Legal Assurance)
- Advising on risk mitigation strategies, including drafting transparency notices, modification notices and contract award notices
- Winning contracts in the public sector
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- Supporting suppliers in engaging with public bodies on pipeline procurements in compliance with procurement law
- Advising on technical specifications and requirements in relation to tender documents
- Advising on conflicts of interest and information barriers
- Advising on issues around bid vehicle structure and consortia issues
- Advising on sub-contractor issues
- Raising clarification questions
- Reviewing tender documents to advise on non-compliance with procurement law and the potential consequences for bidders
- Reviewing draft tender responses to provide legal assurance of compliance with evaluation criteria and scoring methodology
- Supporting on bid strategy
- Assistance and advice on bidding for contracts run under subsidiary regulations for works or services within the competence of specific regulators, e.g. Ofgem
- ESG – social value in public procurement
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- Advising on net zero requirements of tenders including Carbon Reduction Plans
- Acting for authorities in setting questions that relate to ESG issues
- Helping bidders understand and respond effectively to ESG-related questions in tenders
- Understanding greenwashing and implications
- Advising on practical implications and legal risks of commitments to social value
- Public procurement challenges and litigation
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- Reviewing information provided in standstill letters and (if unsuccessful) advising on any grounds to challenge / request more information
- Reviewing standstill letters for compliance with procurement law
- Engaging with authorities to require them to re-issue non-compliant documentation
- Advising on strategy regarding challenging unsuccessful outcomes
- Handling challenges from unsuccessful bidders, including acting in matters escalated to the Court of Appeal, including:
- Extending Standstill period;
- Correspondence with Authorities;
- Issuing Claims in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC);
- Acting for bidders as Claimants in proceedings, from Case Management Conferences through to Trial;
- Reviewing disclosed documents and, where necessary, issuing applications for further disclosure.
- Advising on applications to lift the automatic suspension when challenges prevent the contract being signed, including acting for clients in resisting applications
- Case management, from early stages through until Trial
- Overturning decisions, rewinding the procurement and seeking damages when a claim is issued
- Advising on DCLG/ERDF clawback claims
- Advising successful bidders as an interested party in litigation
- Managing public contracts and variations
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- Advising on post-contract modifications, and whether variations are possible under procurement law.
- Risk mitigation strategies including use of voluntary ex-ante transparency notices
Experience
Our lawyers are on hand to guide suppliers and authorities through these changes. Through our series of webinars, podcasts, infographics and insights we take a pragmatic look at the new Act and its implications across a number of key areas.
Connect with one of our experts
