Jonathan Branton

The CCS brings together policy, advice and direct buying to provide commercial services to the public sector. DWF has been appointed to a new three-year panel that will deliver legal advice to the wider public sector.

DWF will provide full-service commercial legal advice to public sector contracting authorities across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, covering a wide spectrum of practice areas. The legal business has also been named as one of seven firms which can offer UK-wide specialist advice specifically in the transport rail sector.

The legal team advising local authorities through the CCS framework will span from DWF’s eight offices across England, as well as its operations in Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Belfast team will be led by Ken Rutherford.

Jonathan Branton, head of public procurement at DWF, said: “DWF is already one of the leading providers of legal services to the public sector across the UK. Many of our people within the multi-disciplinary team have worked within local authorities or central government agencies, giving us exceptional insight into the challenges they face. We use our expert know how to deliver commercial solutions for our public sector clients.

“Obtaining a position on the CCS legal panel is a prestigious appointment for the business and will enable an even wider range of public sector bodies to access expert and locally sourced legal advice from our experienced teams based around the UK.”