Treasury solicitor: 22 firms and individuals chosen to provide litigation support

South-west firm Foot Anstey, Hugh James in Wales and regional firm Cobbetts are the big winners from the second phase of the litigation services procurement scheme run by the Treasury Solicitor's Department, it has emerged.


'Lit-Cat II', as the panel scheme is known, was launched on 1 June and will run for three years with the possibility of an extension.


Some 22 firms and individuals have been selected to provide litigation support services to the department's own lawyers.


The 15 successful law firms are Ashfords, Boote Edgar Esterkin, Cobbetts, Crutes, Eversheds, Foot Anstey, Glanvilles, Hill Dickinson, Hugh James, Mace & Jones, Nabarro Nathanson, Osborne Clarke, Ricksons, Sternberg Reed Taylor & Gill, and Wragge & Co.


Foot Anstey and Hugh James also made it onto a five firm-strong panel of firms advising the Treasury Solicitor on criminal and regulatory work, both prosecution and defence. Halliwells, Jacqueline Duff, and Kingsley Napley complete the line-up.


Meanwhile, Cobbetts has been appointed to undertake director's disqualification work in Manchester for the companies investigation branch of the Department of Trade and Industry.


Nigel Lyons, partner and head of the criminal advocates team at Foot Anstey, said the firm had acted for the Treasury Solicitor as agents for many years in a wide range of litigation support roles.


He added: 'Our criminal litigation team is particularly strong, with six experienced criminal litigation solicitors supported by a team of criminal clerks, trainees and other paralegals.'


A spokesman for the Treasury Solicitor's Department said Lit-Cat II is part of a general initiative to improve the procurement of legal services from the private sector.


Twelve law firms secured places in April on two panels set up in the first phase of the scheme (see [2005] Gazette, 7 April, 4).


One panel was formed to handle debt recovery work, while the other was to provide prosecution and other regulatory advice for Ofsted, the government agency that monitors standards in education.