About

Team size: 115

Major legal advisers: Addleshaw Goddard, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Dentons, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters, Shakespeare Martineau, Womble Bond Dickinson

More than 60 companies applied for a spot on National Grid’s panel, unveiled in late 2019 following an extensive tender process over six months. The review followed the trend of shrinking rosters, reducing the number of advisers from 12 to ten, with Womble Bond Dickinson the sole new appointee and BDB Pitmans, Irwin Mitchell and Norton Rose Fulbright losing their spots.

The review – for work understood to be worth about £12m a year in the UK alone – drew controversy for its implementation of a ‘pay-to-play’ process, which saw firms pay to compete for adviser spots, effectively covering the near-£2,000 cost of being ‘validated’ by a procurement company.

But National Grid has also garnered strong recommendations for the way it works with its panel firms, with global head of legal operational excellence Mo Ajaz described as ‘one of the leading lights in UK legal operations’ by Pinsent Masons director for client solutions, David Halliwell: ‘He’s very good with data and data analytics around how firms provide value – that’s how he stands out.’

Addleshaw Goddard head of infrastructure, products and energy group, Richard Goodfellow, adds: ‘It is one of the most thoughtful businesses in terms of how it engages with its panel. It has thought about how best to engage and give people work, and although value is critical, it understands it’s not the only criteria to use.’

Initiatives include reports that rank how firms compare – without naming the other firms – on areas such as providing training, allowing them to more easily stake a claim for work depending on their contribution. Group GC and company secretary Alison Kay says this arrangement puts all the emphasis on firms being pro-active about showing how they can add value: ‘We talk to the firms about how we expect transparency over cost and expect them to offer value add-on services, like legal automation.’

The reduction in advisers – National Grid had looked at going as low as six panel firms – was intended to preserve the competitive spirit between firms, says Kay, but also guarantee them certainty of work. Firms will still be expected to pitch for certain pieces of work, however.

The new contract began on 1 February 2020 for three years, with an option to extend for a further two years. The panel was previously extended in 2017 following the last full review in 2015. It features full services and specialist advice firms covering regulated and non-regulated property and planning, corporate services, as well as gas and electricity legal work.

‘In-house is tightening up what it wants from its lawyers and panels of modern times will need to become more fluid,’ Kay comments. ‘What we wanted to see five years ago is very different to what we want to see now. I want us to have a really small panel of core firms but more fluidity for niche regulatory work.’