New jobs for Leeds legals thanks to contract win
A KEY contract won by law firm Simpson Millar to supply nationwide legal advice is creating 20 new jobs in Leeds.
The Community Legal Advice contract, which is due to begin on May 1, will involve a minimum of 16,500 hours of legal advices delivered through Simpson Millar’s specialist legal helpline in the first year.
The number of hours will then increase incrementally to exceed 24,000 hours by 2013.
The contract will deliver quality legal advice and services to thousands of disadvantaged people in a manner that is widely considered cost effective and real value for money for UK tax payers.
Simpson Millar is among a handful of firms on the new panel, after more than 30 firms submitted their bids including one of the largest providers of employment legal advice.
The firms invited to tender for the contract were asked to consider areas such as resilience, value for money, quality of service, equality and innovation.
Simpson Millar is now looking to recruit 15 advisors for its legal helpline in Leeds. In addition, the firm will be recruiting a number of senior employment lawyers to manage the cases and support the helpline advisors.
Craig Jones, operations director at the law firm, said its success was partially due to a sginificant investment in new technology.
“We wanted to demonstrate an innovative approach to the contract and are keen to work closely with the other successful providers to foster consistency – reducing the costs of both implementation and execution, and of course to ensure success of the overall scheme,” he said.
“In my view, these are exciting times. The initiative by the Legal Services Commission to find high quality legal advice at competitive prices is a growing trend amongst businesses and organisations across the country.”
He added: “It is a sensible move and law firms need to respond by developing their infrastructure and management processes to deliver such a service in a competitive market.”
Julie Parkin, Leeds-based contracts manager from the Legal Services Commission, which issued the contract, said: “The increase in legal aid availability is great news for people in need, and it’s also an opportunity for law firms and agencies seeking to take on more work in a difficult economic environment.
“Legal aid gives people access to justice when they need it but can’t afford it. This is a vital use of taxpayers’ money by ensuring fairness and allows social mobility by resolving people’s problems.”
