Commercial Legal Support to the LAA

The Legal Aid Agency ("LAA") is seeking to appoint a legal services provider to provide on-going legal assistance to the LAA in relation to commercial legal matters.

The LAA is responsible for the provision of all publicly funded civil and criminal legal aid advice in England and Wales. The LAA is therefore required to procure the services of external legal aid providers and develop the service of legal advice that the providers undertake for clients as well as, arrange and operate a variety of commercial contracts to discharge the Lord Chancellor's duty to ensure access to justice.

Given the breadth of LAA contracts and the complex procurement processes used to award such contracts, a wide range of complex legal issues arise. The legal aid market is inherently litigious due to long-standing and well publicised funding challenges associated with the provision of legal aid and there are widespread sustainability issues. The LAA is also subject to increasing scrutiny from pressure groups and charities representing the rights of those reliant on legal aid services. In addition, the LAA is subject to political pressures as a result of government policy and Ministerial objectives that significantly impact the LAA's procurement strategies. The LAA's service deliverables also link with various MoJ and wider government areas such as; immigration, prisons and courts. The LAA therefore requires expert external legal support to assist the limited GLD commercial legal resource working with the LAA to advise on commercial law issues including procurement strategy and contracts in order to mitigate risk to the LAA and the risks of successful legal challenges.

Notably, the Lord Chancellor has a legal duty to ensure access to justice. Provision of sustainable, quality legal advice is therefore the LAA's utmost business priority and ensuring legally compliant processes and robust contracts by which to provide legal aid services is key to the LAA's objectives.