Canberra’s Commonwealth legal services multi-use list now features 68 firms in total – reduced from 152 used last year. The big loser from the cull appear to be London-based magic circle firm Clifford Chance, which becomes the only English-headquartered firm with an Australian arm or alliance not to be included on the slimmed down list.

Pre-approved

According to The Lawyer newspaper (click link for full list), the panel contains firms that have been pre-approved to provide legal services to agencies across four categories of work: corporate and commercial, dispute resolution and litigation, government and administrative law, and all other legal services.
Australasian Legal Business Online reports that the government introduced the list to improve the management and delivery of legal services across the Commonwealth. The list is part of a series of reforms implemented by the country’s Attorney General. Government agencies without existing arrangements for on-going legal services are now required to use the panel.
Firms that are not currently on the list will have to apply for inclusion, according to The Lawyer, but assessments will only be undertaken twice each year – the next being 4 September 2012.
The Australians say panel member performance will be monitored closely, with agencies required to give feedback on several performance related criteria.