Clarke Willmott joins £45m legal framework

National law firm Clarke Willmott LLP has secured a position on the £45 million London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) 2025 Legal Services Framework, which aims to support a variety of educational and not-for-profit organisations. This appointment allows Clarke Willmott to provide its full-service legal offerings to LUPC members, including universities, colleges, and other entities in the education, arts, science, charity, and public sector domains.

The framework is designed to facilitate seamless access to expert legal advice tailored to meet both strategic and operational needs, thereby ensuring cost-effective solutions for its members. Clarke Willmott has teamed up with Bates Wells, who will serve as subcontractors, to enhance the range of services offered.

Brendan Ryan, Clarke Willmott’s client relationship partner, expressed his enthusiasm, stating “We are delighted to be selected for this prestigious panel.” He further noted that “Our appointment reflects our commitment to delivering high-quality legal support tailored to the education and public sectors.” Ryan added that “As a new name on the framework, we look forward to supporting LUPC members by delivering novel legal solutions in what is a challenging environment. We are confident that members will find our approach refreshingly pragmatic and solutions-focused.”

Clarke Willmott will operate under Lot 1B of the framework, a category specifically aimed at full-service law firms with expertise in higher education and not-for-profit sectors. The firm plans to offer a wide array of services, including corporate and commercial law, litigation, real estate, procurement and competition, employment, regulatory, and public law, thereby ensuring comprehensive legal assistance.

While many LUPC members are based in London, this appointment also allows Clarke Willmott to extend its services to other regional purchasing consortia allied with LUPC, such as the North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC), North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC), Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC), and Higher Education Purchasing Consortium Wales (HEPCW). The LUPC contract is set to commence on 1st October 2025 and will run until 30th September 2028, with the potential for an extension until 30th September 2030.