A group of West Midlands local authorities has joined forces to establish its first framework for barristers' legal services.

Worth up to £60 million (plus VAT) over four years, the framework comes into effect on 14 September 2026. It has been developed to provide participating councils with streamlined access to high quality specialist legal expertise across a wide range of local government services.

The framework was managed by specialist legal consultancy Kennedy Cater, with City of Wolverhampton Council acting as lead contracting authority on behalf of the West Midlands Local Authorities partnership, comprising:

• Birmingham City Council
• Coventry City Council
• Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
• Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
• Shropshire Council
• Stratford-on-Avon District Council
• Telford & Wrekin Council
• Walsall Council
• Warwick District Council
• City of Wolverhampton Council

The framework is also open to local authorities across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire.

Tim Morel, Head of Public Sector at Kennedy Cater, said:

"This procurement is a prime example of how positive collaboration between local authorities can deliver outstanding benefits. From the outset the framework was designed to provide the tailored support these local authorities specifically require, from first class Chambers who additionally provide a raft of value added and social benefits, from providing legal training sessions, management information, secondments and legal surgeries to offering work experience, paid internships and pupillage opportunities specifically targeted to help improve social mobility for their communities for years to come."

Jeszemma Howell, Cabinet member for Governance and Digital, said: "This framework demonstrates what can be achieved when local authorities work together towards a shared goal. By combining our purchasing power, we have secured access to high-quality specialist legal support while ensuring value for money for the public purse.

"The framework will help councils obtain expert barristers' services efficiently and consistently, supporting the delivery of vital local services and helping us respond effectively to the legal challenges we face."

A total of 23 chambers have been appointed across nine specialist service areas covering adult and children's social care, governance and public law, criminal litigation and prosecutions, housing, planning, property, employment and licensing.

Lot 1 – Adult Social Services (10 Chambers)

3PB Barristers

11KBW

39 Essex

Cornerstone Chambers Ltd

Cornwall Street Chambers

Field Court Chambers

Kings Chambers

Landmark Chambers

No5 Chambers

St Philips Chambers

Lot 2 - Children’s Services (10 Chambers)

3PB Barristers

7 Harrington Street

11KBW

33 Bedford Row Chambers

Cornwall Street Chambers

Harcourt Family Law

Linenhall Chambers

No5 Chambers

St Ives Chambers

St Philips Chambers

The 36 Group

Lot 3 – Governance & Public Law, including Education (6 Chambers)

3PB Barristers

4-5 Gray's Inn Square Chambers

11 KBW

39 Essex

Field Court Chambers

Landmark Chambers

Lot 4 – Criminal Litigation & Prosecutions (5 Chambers)

No5 Chambers

No8 Chambers

St Ives Chambers

St Philips Chambers

The 36 Group

Lot 5 – Housing & Civil Litigation (8 Chambers)

3PB Barristers

4-5 Gray's Inn Square Chambers

Cornerstone Chambers Ltd

Field Court Chambers

Five Paper

St Ives Chambers

St Philips Chambers

The 36 Group

Lot 6 – Planning (7 Chambers)

3PB Barristers

39 Essex

Cornerstone Chambers Ltd

The Barrister Group

Francis Taylor Building

Landmark Chambers

No5 Chambers

Lot 7 – Property (6 Chambers)

3PB Barristers

4-5 Gray's Inn Square Chambers

39 Essex

Cornerstone Chambers

Five Paper

No 5 Chambers

Lot 8 – Employment (5 Chambers)

3 Pump Court

4-5 Gray's Inn Square

Field Court Chambers

No5 Chambers

The 36 Group

Lot 9 – Licensing (4 Chambers)

Cornerstone Chambers

Francis Taylor Building

Kings Chambers

St Philips Chambers

January 2024

The Contract Notice has been published for the procurement of CHIC’s 3^rd generation legal services framework, worth up to £20m over 4 years, and due to be effective from 1 July 2024.

The legal services are broken down into four Lots:

• Lot 1: Corporate, Governance & Finance
• Lot 2: Housing & Asset Management
• Lot 3: Development
• Lot 4: Property

Kennedy Cater have partnered with The Communities and Housing Investment Consortium (CHIC), since 2016, when we helped establish their first legal services framework.  Our expertise in this complex area enables our clients to be at the vanguard in offering their members access to specialist legal advice at the most favourable rates. The amount of spend through the current Framework has increased on average by 100% per year and is the result of; members increasing the proportion of their legal spend instructed via the Framework, more members using the Framework for the first time, and the growth of CHIC which now has around 240 members.

December 2023

The London Boroughs’ Legal Alliance has appointed 24 sets of chambers to their long-established Barristers Legal Services Framework, worth an estimated £60m.

The London Borough of Ealing acted as contracting authority on behalf of the other 27 LBLA members, working alongside specialist legal consultancy Kennedy Cater who helped establish the original framework in 2012. The LBLA has continued to grow and now comprises: the London Boroughs of Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Lambeth, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, the City of London Corporation, Westminster City Council,  and the London Fire Commissioner and Slough Borough Council.

The framework will also be available to other local authorities within Greater London and South-East England (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and West Sussex)

Given the breadth and complexity of the work undertaken across London authorities, the barristers framework is particularly comprehensive, comprising 11 Lots. The successful chambers across each Lot are:

Lot 1 – Adult Social Services

11 KBW

39 Essex Chambers

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

Cornerstone Chambers

Deka Chambers

Field Court Chambers

Landmark Chambers

Lot 2 – Childrens’ Services

1 Crown Office Row

2 Dr Johnson’s Buildings

33 Bedford Row Chambers

4 Brick Court

42 Bedford Row Chambers

5 Pump Court

Coram Chambers

Deka Chambers

Field Court Chambers

New Court Chambers

The 36 Group

Lot 3 – Governance and Public Law

11 KBW

39 Essex Chambers

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

Cornerstone Chambers

Field Court Chambers

Landmark Chambers

Lot 4 – Criminal Litigations and Prosecutions

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

Cornerstone Chambers

Drystone Chambers

Foundry Chambers

Three Raymond Buildings

Lot 5 – Housing

42 Bedford Row Chambers

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

5 Pump Court

Cornerstone Chambers

Field Court Chambers

Five Paper

Lot 6 – Planning

39 Essex Chambers

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

Cornerstone Chambers

Francis Taylor Building

Landmark Chambers

Six Pump Court Chambers

Lot 7 – Property

42 Bedford Row Chambers

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

5 Pump Court

Cornerstone Chambers

Field Court Chambers

Lot 8 – Civil Litigation

42 Bedford Row Chambers

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

5 Pump Court

Cornerstone Chambers

Field Court Chambers

The 36 Group

Lot 9 – Employment

42 Bedford Row Chambers

4-5 Gray’s Inn Square Chambers

Doughty Street Chambers

Field Court Chambers

The 36 Group

The Barrister Group

Lot 10 – Education

11 KBW

39 Essex Chambers

Landmark Chambers

The 36 Group

Lot 11 – Licensing

Cornerstone Chambers

Francis Taylor Building

Three Raymond Buildings

The existing Barristers Framework expires on 31 December 2023, after which the new framework will run for three years to 31 December 2026 with an option to extend for a further 12 months to 31 December 2027. In addition to securing highly competitive pricing, the framework will also give the LBLA members access to an extensive range of social value benefits in support of their resident and community initiatives.

Helen Harris, Director of Legal and Democratic Services at Ealing Council said: “We were determined that this framework should cover the full range of our members’ legal needs and we are delighted with the quality of the panel, the rates secured across all 11 Lots and the social value benefits available to our residents. In the 13 years that the LBLA has been in operation we are very proud of the savings and benefits that we have achieved and to do so whilst accessing such high quality legal advice.”

Tim Morel of Consultancy Kennedy Cater who helped manage the tender process notes, “This is a hugely positive outcome for the increasing number of London local authorities who are now members of the LBLA. It is gratifying that this framework will ensure that their often complex, legal needs will continue to be supported by some of the country’s best legal minds at such competitive prices.”

Our clients already know Susan Sweny, as the incredible director of commercial contracts at Kennedy Cater but we thought you’d enjoy Susan's first blog post, which gives us a sneak peek into Susan’s other interests.

PLC can only get you so far

Right, deep breath and here I go, this is my very first blog. I haven’t even read one let alone written one before. Whilst I get the gist of what a blog is I had to Google what it entailed.  Like any good lawyer I was looking for a template!!! Much to my horror there isn’t one and the advice was to be chatty and write about something familiar to yourself! Cats, white wine, the family dog, I thought – who would want to read about that.   So, I had a poke around the internet to see what logophile lawyers were writing about and thought I would take inspiration.  I must admit I can’t really get enthused about top ten tips for killer drafting or what to take to a meeting apart from a pen and paper. However, what did attract my attention was a blog by Sterling Miller about effective in-house counsel reading A LOT*.

And so, I put down my cat App, patted the family dog and poured myself a large glass of white wine and thought about the books I have read over the years that spoke to me in some way, shape or form.   Here is my list (made short as it could go on forever) along with my nibbles of self-knowledge:

1. John Grisham (obvs), the Whistler.   American states cannot regulate activities on Indian reservations or tax their occupants, and so casinos are built on the land which raises revenue to support the tribal community with health and education services although not without issue.     I can remember telling my travelling companions this nugget of information whilst travelling around Palm Springs and seeing some of the casinos.  I sounded very knowledgeable (little did they know).
2. Jane Austen, Persuasion. Anne Elliot is very much a role model.   My favourite line in the book describes our heroine as being “only Anne” but what a woman, apart from one drastic bad decision, she stuck to her guns, was true to herself and didn’t deviate.
3. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.  My first real understanding of Civil Rights issues in the US.
4. Agatha Christie, all her novels.  I learnt to appreciate that everyone has a place at the table, it is sometimes the most unexpected person in the room with the best idea or with Agatha, the worst idea!
5. Lynda La Plante, Prime Suspect.  I wanted to be Jane Tennison.   I still do although without her penchant for whiskey.
6. Anything about spies in the second world war.  That was true bravery and puts me in my place whenever I get stressed by my job.

…………………and number 7) Blogs – you can learn A LOT.

Feel free to send me your list.

*Ten Things: Ten Habits of Highly Effective In-House Lawyers | Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel® (wordpress.com)

Susan Sweny is Director of Commercial Contracts at Kennedy Cater.  Susan lives in West Dulwich and is commercial lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in various industries from: banking; utilities; retail; fashion; tobacco; leisure; and pharmaceutical to digital; media, PR; and corporate training.

Legal departments, regardless of size and type of the organisation, are a busy place. They are the hub of the company. Not one day is the same and the only certain is the unpredictable nature of the day.

The Housing Associations’ Legal Alliance (HALA) – a consortium of registered providers set up to drive down solicitors’ fees and share best practice – has added three new members.

For the full story in the The Local Government Lawyer please click here.