EM Lawshare Framework Agreement for Legal Services

West Northamptonshire Council (the Authority) is acting as lead authority and running this procurement on behalf of the EM Lawshare (EMLS). This procurement is being conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and is being conducted through the Competitive Flexible procedure to identify the Potential Suppliers for the requirement. This is a Light Touch procurement.

EMLS is a consortium of public bodies (the Consortium) that have been procuring legal services frameworks over the last 20 years. This procurement is for a new framework agreement to replace an existing one that is expiring on 31 March 2026. Contracting authorities will be required to be members of the Consortium in order to use the new framework agreement.

There are just over 240 contracting authorities signed up as members to use the existing framework agreement. 82% of these are local authorities and parish councils located in England and the remaining 18% is made up of wholly owned local authority subsidiary companies, blue light services, park authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, police and crime commissioners, universities and colleges. A full list of current members signed up to use the existing framework can be seen by using this link to the EMLS website: https://emlawshare.co.uk/directory/

The number of contracting authorities signed up to use the current framework has grown significantly from the number using the initial framework set up 20 years ago when seven local authorities in the East Midlands initially started undertaking procurements as a consortium. The range of users has also spread geographically so it now extends country wide and includes some of the largest local authorities in the country such as: Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham and Sheffield City councils and Cornwall, Kent, Somerset, Derbyshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire councils.

The EMLS has now formalised its consortium arrangements in the form of a new Consortium Agreement intended to strengthen the consortium's governance arrangements in anticipation of this tender for a new framework. The agreement is available on the publicly accessible part of the EMLS's website so that any bidder interested in understanding the EMLS's governance and operating arrangements can view it - see [Insert link to webpage].

All contracting authorities (as defined in the Procurement Act 2023) in England & Wales will be eligible to join the Consortium, either before or during the term of the new framework agreement, to have access to use the framework. Contracting authorities that are not local authorities require approval of the Consortium Board to join the Consortium, whereas local authorities do not.

The closed framework agreement will deliver legal services to members of the Consortium. These services will sit under ten areas of work. These include every major category of work dealt with by local authorities other than child care work. The scope of the services is further detailed in the Specification. The framework agreement will not be split into lots as the appointed firms are required to be able to respond to requirements across all of the ten areas of work.

The framework agreement will have 10 private law firms appointed to it.

The framework agreement will have a maximum total value of £1 billion (exclusive of VAT) for the delivery of the requirements as set out in the Specification. The framework agreement will not bind any Consortium member to use the appointed firms nor will any guarantee be given as to the minimum levels of work which will be awarded under the framework.

The Consortium will during the course of the framework agreement charge appointed firms a management fee calculated as a percentage based on a sliding scale of the income they invoice to Consortium members each year (net of VAT and disbursements), as detailed in the Invitation to Tender.

Firms appointed to the framework will be required, jointly & /or solely, to provide certain added value services as part of the contract. These are detailed in the Specification.

Annual indexation to the pricing will apply from the third contract year of the framework agreement. Please refer to Schedule 4, paragraph 1 of the framework agreement for further details.

A conflicts assessment has been prepared and revised in accordance with Section 83.

If your organisation wishes to participate in this process, you need to register with In-Tend Portal. You will be unable to take part if you do not register. Please use the link below and follow the instructions on the website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/wnc/aspx/Home

Tenders must be returned via the Portal.

The tender return date is midday on Monday 19th October 2026. Tenders received after this time and date will not be accepted.