Weightmans reappointed to specialist legal services framework

Weightmans has been reappointed to support the provision of legal services to public bodies across the East Midlands and England as a whole.

Founded to ensure participating local authorities, police and fire services, NHS bodies and other public sector organisations can access legal support at competitive rates, EM Lawshare is the largest consortium of its kind in the UK. Its membership has grown from 80 to more than 230 organisations over the past four years. Weightmans has been a partner firm of EM Lawshare since its inception in 2006

Weightmans is one of ten firms appointed to the framework, which will run from April 2022 to March 2026. The firm’s public bodies team deliver a variety of services, spanning real estate, planning, governance, defendant litigation, outsourcing and procurement support and fraud detection, to adult social care and information law challenges.

Simon Goacher, partner and head of Local Government at Weightmans, said: “Public bodies face continuing pressure to do more with less. Frameworks like EM Lawshare ensure they can access key legal advice which has been subjected to robust scrutiny of its quality and cost, supporting them in delivering the best possible services to their communities.

“We are delighted to have been reappointed again to the framework, which is testament to the expertise of our team and our ability to provide advice and legal support to organisations where transparency and public trust are critical. EM Lawshare also runs an ambitious added value programme including a precedent bank which we have been asked to administer. We are delighted to do this and to contribute to the other added value projects.”

Stuart Leslie, EM Lawshare co-ordinator, added: “We very much welcome Weightmans’ continuing involvement with EM Lawshare. They have proved a valued partner from the beginning.”