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This guidance will help you consider the options you have when:

• buying new legal services for your school
• switching to a new supplier
• renegotiating existing contracts or services

You do not have to switch suppliers to get better value. It may be easier and cheaper to remain with your current supplier.

There鈥檚 separate general guidance available on buying procedures and procurement.

Legal fees will vary depending on the type of service you need. Different examples of legal fees include:

• hourly rates or time spent (for smaller, one-off jobs)

• fixed fee (for planning your budget)

Being charged a fixed fee can help you budget but it may not cover non-routine legal work.

Hourly rates will generally be more expensive but can be useful for:

• ad-hoc work

• when you need a specialist or more qualified lawyer

Understanding your current contract

It may be cheaper and easier to stay with your existing supplier and negotiate a better deal.

Before you renegotiate, you should consider:

• how you鈥檙e currently being charged

• what services you currently get

• the quality of the service you receive

• requesting free additional support for your staff

• asking your solicitor if there are ways to reduce costs

• whether you could take any work in-house

Be aware of extra fees

You may be charged extra fees for:

• additional support services

• a more experienced lawyer

• travel costs and expenses for face-to-face meetings

• an increase in the scope of work that you ask to be carried out

Get external advice

Knowing what similar schools pay for legal services can help you compare your existing costs.

You may want to speak to local schools in your area and ask them:

• about the rates they pay

• how their spending compares with yours

• what level of service they get

• for advice on best practice, for example, due diligence

• whether they would recommend their provider

Joining a school business professional network can give you access to peer-to-peer advice from other school buying professionals.

To compare your existing costs with the supply market, you should share your specification with several suppliers. This will help you assess whether your existing contract still offers you the best value.

Gather all the information you鈥檒l need before you contact suppliers, including:

• your existing contract end date

• the fees or rates you鈥檙e currently paying

• a specification of what you need (being clear about what you need will help to prevent overcharging)

• when you want to start your contract

• when you want the work completed

• who in your school will be responsible for managing legal services

You should:

• compare costs and services across supplier

• produce a shortlist of suppliers that meet your requirements and budget

• follow your school鈥檚 procurement rules when buying new services (these may be your school鈥檚 own rules or set by your local authority)

Assess the level of service you need

Before you switch to a new supplier, think about what level of service you鈥檒l need.

Your supplier should have experience within the education sector and your particular circumstances.

You may want to ask whether your supplier is experienced dealing with:

• employment law (recruitment, unfair dismissal, redundancy, discrimination) and TUPE
• data protection
• education law
• charity law
• academy property law
• pensions
• matters relating to student
• immigration
• human rights

Levels of expertise

Ask your legal services provider to recommend a junior solicitor where appropriate and only use senior solicitors for non-routine or complex legal matters.

Request details of who will be carrying out the work and make sure that charging structures are clear, transparent and agreed in writing upfront.

Regulation

There are several bodies who are responsible for regulating legal services providers within England and Wales.

These bodies all report to the Legal Services Board. You can find a full list of regulatory bodies for each area of legal services on the website.

Most regulatory bodies offer online search services where you can check:

• relevant accreditation

• any sanctions listed against your shortlisted suppliers

You can also use the list of regulatory bodies to find a suitable legal services provider for your requirements.

More information about choosing a lawyer is available on the website.

Get free services

Ask if your supplier can add value by providing:

• sponsorship or attending careers fairs at your school

• hosting work placements or internships

This framework offers a range of legal services for education providers which can be tailored to meet your school, college or academy鈥檚 needs.

Under the Procurement Act 2023 you will need to understand your obligations with regards to contract management and the publishing of appropriate notices.

The section Get training on the Procurement Act 2023 has information on how to:

• get free, approved聽DfE聽training on the Procurement Act 2023
• register on the central digital platform

Find out more from the .