Major companies are pressing external counsel to pay to compete for adviser spots in a move set to be resisted by some major law firms. The practice sees law firms paying to be ‘validated’ by a procurement company, effectively pushing the cost of the agency onto the pitching law firms. One prominent case has been National Grid’s ongoing panel review. Santander has also used a comparable model on a recent pitch.
The National Grid panel review, covering a range of work understood to be worth about £12m a year in the UK alone, began six months ago and is due to be finalised at the end of November. Six to ten spots are available on its roster, which is being reduced from 12 advisers.
