Legal services tenders are usually for partnerships to obtain representation on a panel or framework. There are opportunities for small firms to get large contracts through providing services for a framework. These frameworks tend to be large and secure in their tenure and so represent fantastic opportunities for small firms to secure some significant business. Crown Commercial Services (CCS) advertise frameworks when they become available. There is a wide variety of legal tenders available on the CCS with large numbers of suppliers. This suggests that these legal frameworks are viable options for small firms. Information about these frameworks are posted on the CCS. It is important to read these publications to find out the requirements for the legal tender. This information will help tailor your response and ensure you are delivering on the requests set out for you. Assessing the needs of each framework and finding if and how your firm can address these issues will help identify which frameworks to tailor your legal tender to. The table below shows some of the frameworks available and their renewal dates. It is important for small firms to stay on top of these dates to ensure there is adequate bid preparation time to ensure a place on them.

A summary of the frameworks is provided below:

• The General Legal Advice Services is a framework for the provision of legal advice under English and Welsh law for the central government as well as arms-length bodies. Successful suppliers must also supply legal advice under Scottish law where required. Also, the potential for legal advice to international jurisdictions is possible if the supplier can provide it.
• The Cost Lawyer Services framework covers the costs associated with litigation work for the receiving and/or paying party in England or Wales. The agreement will offer three, quality assured, lots covering the following services:
  • consultancy and negotiation
  • estimates and statement of costs
  • advocacy and/or attending hearings
  • instructing counsel
  • costs law advice.
• The eDisclosure Services framework provides eDisclosure and eDiscovery services to all the customers of the public sector. This includes the central government as well as the wider public sector.
• The Finance & Complex Legal Services framework provides legal advice to government departments, executive agencies and arms-length bodies for corporate finance relating to high value, high profile and complex projects.
• The Rail Legal Services framework provides specific legal advice for rail services, particularly rail franchising, for the Department of Transport.
• The WPS Legal Services framework was established to provide a route to market for legal services requirements to the wider public sector. This framework forms part of the wider strategy for legal services provision
• Legal Aid Frameworks are also available on the Legal Aid Agency, this is a common framework ran by the government that are generally up for renewal every 3-4 years on the LLA eTendering portal.

Previous efforts/future innovation

To gain a place on a panel or framework a partnership will need to demonstrate past performance and future innovation in the delivery of services. It is important to those advertising the framework that they can trust you to carry out their requests. Evidence of previous legal tender performance and completion will make your legal tender more credible as it will show you can deal with demands and issues that come up in the carrying out of the dynamic purchasing system. Furthermore, showing you can add innovation to the framework and as such potentially save time and money can boost your chances of winning the contract. Innovative measures make your firm stand out from the competition and give framework suppliers a reason to select your firm. It is important to link previous relevant examples to the questions being asked before showing how you would add innovation to the dynamic purchasing system with your firm’s legal tender.

Changes in law

The legal sector has also been affected by the changes in the criminal justice sector and the Ministry of Justice’s drive for more cost-effective services. Cuts have been made to legal aid in a bid to save the government money. This has meant a rise in uncertainty over frameworks This reduction highlights the importance of staying up to date with legal tenders when they are available as so not to miss any opportunity. It also suggests that showing innovative methods will be very important as this is an effective way of cutting costs. Showing that your firm can provide innovation and as such increase effectiveness whilst cutting costs will be hugely beneficial to your firm in presenting yourself as a viable provider. The impact Brexit will have is unknown as of yet but will undoubtedly be significant. With such uncertainty in this sector it is important to have security in your bid process, something the Bid Team can help ensure.

The Bid Team

If you are looking to submit a legal tender into this sector, then The Bid Team can help. We worked closely with Atos to deliver support to their Ministry of Justice (MoJ) bids and provide a thorough review of their bid process – leading to improved win rates and more knowledgeable staff. Our bid process is defined and well suited for legal tenders and overview of our process can be found here. In addition we have produced a series of “How to” guides to further assist our clients win work through legal tenders for example “How to position a bid“, “How to qualify a bid” and “How to write a bid answer“. These guides incorporate our approach with easy to use forms and templates. We also provide news on large legal tenders on our news page.

If you are looking to bid to this sector, then The Bid Team can help provide bid management, bid writing, bid reviews as well as other services to help your organisation win legal tenders. Please use the form below to contact us for a discussion on your bid.