First Law

Internet opens door for small firms to compete for tenders

Law Society Gazette - Thursday 7th March 2002

Institutional and state-sponsored tenders for legal services are giving more opportunities to smaller firms because of the Internet, Anthony Armitage, the Director of First Law, has claimed.

The law firm and referral service has just completed a tender for the General Medical Council to carry out proceedings against doctors, won by East Anglian firm Mills & Reeve.

Mr Armitage said this was an increasing part of First Law's work; the firm has completed one tender for a trade union and a local authority, and is working on three more for local authorities and a university.

In the GMC tender, the firms submitted all the information on-line. Mr Armitage said: 'This ensured uniformity of presentation and allowed the GMC to compare submissions easily and fairly.'

Mr Armitage said First Law has long suspected that firms with larger marketing budgets had a competitive advantage in tenders. 'We're now seeing firms that would not formerly have had a chance getting much more of an opportunity.'