RM set to appoint 5 firms to employment and property panels

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Royal Mail set to appoint five firms to employment and property panels

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Royal Mail has kicked off a review of its employment and property panels which will see five firms appointed to step in when the current panel contract expires next year.

The review is being led by general counsel Doug Evans, who joined Royal Mail in 2006 from logistics company Exel, and is part of an effort by the organisation to to cut legal spend and rationalise its adviser roster.

Successful firms will sign a framework agreement for a term of three years with the company reserving the option to extend the contract for a further year.

The current panel arrangement is due to expire on 31 March next year.

The request to tender states: "...work will be called off as and when required. No minimum volumes or values of work will be guaranteed under the agreement."

The postal company last reviewed its sub-panels three years ago, when it appointed new firms to its personal injury and employment rosters.

Royal Mail's legal arrangements were formerly run on a regional basis with Eversheds and Weightmans the preferred legal advisers for the Midlands and the northwest regions, with Hammonds the preferred adviser in the northeast.

The new panel firms will be appointed on a national basis, with a preference for firms which can provide both employment and property advice.

Royal Mail currently employs an in-house legal team of approximately 35 lawyers. The successful firms will be announced early next year.