Court of Appeal

Published December 3, 2007

Regina (Law Society) v Legal Services Commission

Dexter Montague and Partners (a Firm) v Same

Before Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Justice Wall and Lord Justice Lawrence Collins

Judgment November 29, 2007

The virtually unlimited unilateral power of amendment given to the Legal Services Commission in its new unified contract with solicitors wishing to undertake publicly funded civil work was incompatible with the requirement of transparency in the award of contracts by public authorities.

The Court of Appeal so held in a reserved judgment allowing an appeal by the claimants, the Law Society and Dexter Montague and Partners, a firm of solicitors, against the refusal of Mr Justice Beatson in the Queen’s Bench Division ([2007] EWHC 1848 (Admin)) to grant a declaration that the rights of the Legal Services Commission to amend the unified contract with solicitors wishing to undertake publicly funded civil work were incompatible with regulation 4 of the Public Contracts Regulations (SI 2006 No 5).

The court dismissed a cross-appeal by the commission and the Secretary of State for Justice, as an interested party, against the judge’s decision to grant a similar declaration in relation to regulation 9.

Mr John Howell, QC, Mr Javan Herberg and Mr Mark Vinall for the claimants; Mr Robert Jay, QC, Mr Paul Darling, QC, Mr Rhodri Williams and Miss Sarah Hannaford for the commission and the secretary of state.

THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, giving the judgment of the court, said that all general civil contracts between solicitors and the Legal Services Commission had been due to expire on March 31, 2007.

The new unified contracts were sent to solicitors in February 2007 and the solicitors were required to sign and return them no later than March 31, 2007 if they wished to continue to undertake publicly funded work. The contracts were sent to solicitors on a take it or leave it basis.

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