The City of Edinburgh Council’s in-house legal team provides advice and support on all legal matters relating to the Council. The team instructs external firms where it has insufficient capacity or where particular specialist advice is required. The Council wishes to appoint a number of suitably qualified and experienced law firms (“Service Providers”) to a six lot Framework Agreement to carry out legal services for the City of Edinburgh Council and other named Scottish local authorities. The type and volume of advice required may fluctuate during the period of the Contract.

Lot 1: Commercial

The Council expects the following services from Service Providers to include but is not limited to: Public law, Corporate law, Commercial contracts, Finance law and financial services law, Intellectual property, IT, Procurement, FOISA, Data protection, RIPSA and RIPA, Commercial and Pensions.

Lot 2: Property and Planning

The Council expects the following services from Service Providers to include but is not limited to: Property law, Construction law, Environmental law, Planning law, Transportation law and Litigation support for all of the above.

Lot 3: Litigation

The Council expects the following services from Service Providers to include but is not limited to: Childcare law, Education law, Litigation, Licensing law.

Lot 4: Employment Law

The Council expects the following services from Service Providers to include but is not limited to: Providing legal advice in relation to local government employment law matters, Providing support in the furtherance of positive employee relations, Providing legal advice in relation to litigated employment matters, Providing front-line expert support to complex high risk HR case management, Providing advice and support on the development of employment policies and practices, Providing advice on major projects in relation to employment matters and Advocacy (including solicitor-advocacy if possible).

Lot 5: Major Projects and Investigations

The Council expects the following services from Service Providers to include but is not limited to:

The provision of strategic and multi-disciplinary advice in respect of major, high value and/or complex matters requiring expertise in excess of that which would ordinarily fall within Lots 1 to 4 of the Contract; and

The provision of complex multi-disciplinary investigatory advice in respect of major, high value and/ or complex matters requiring investigatory expertise in excess of that which would ordinarily fall within Lots 1 to 4 of the Contract.

Lot 6: Debt Recovery

The Council expects the following services from Service Providers to include but is not limited to the three categories of debt to be recovered: (1) council tax & non-domestic rates (NDR), (2) sundry debt, including not limited to parking penalty charges and statutory repairs debt and (3) heritage court - rent arrears.