Partners at Thorntons in Dundee hope coming top of the class in a national procurement assessment will lead to more business from the education sector for Tayside’s largest law firm.
Following a year-long assessment, the firm has been accredited by the central buyer for Scotland’s tertiary education sector, Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (Apuc).
The new designation means the firm will be one of the turn-to legal advisers for the country’s higher and further education institutions allowing it to broaden its geographical spread in the sector.
Thorntons was rated as the preferred provider for legal services in the general commercial, property and people matters segments, and also made the approved group of five firms in the charity and “one stop shop” frameworks.
It is one of only two to have secured a place on all five Apuc lists.
It is expected that the move will see Thorntons involved in a range of work including EU purchasing, academic research, planning law, major building projects and employment matters for institutions across Scotland.
Managing partner Craig Nicol welcomed the news.
“To be awarded five contracts by Apuc is an incredible achievement and reaffirms our commitment to the sector,” he said.
“These appointments will allow Thorntons to continue to deliver an excellent service to our existing education clients and also gives the firm the opportunity to work with other institutions in areas where we have a proven track record.”
Apuc, which was established in the wake of the 2006 McLelland review of public sector procurement, aims to work with Scotland’s 61 colleges and universities to ensure value for money by centralising purchasing.
Thorntons partner Liam McMonagle said the firm was “pleased with the recognition and excited about the possibilities” brought by its new status.
“We have been recognised before as one of the leading firms that do education law in Scotland, but a lot of it has been based in this area,” he said.
“What this exercise has done is subject us to a very rigorous assessment on a national level.”