Public Procurement | UK Bar

11KBW is a highly renowned set, regarded as a go-to for local authorities, NHS trusts and other public bodies. Its members are also regularly instructed by tenderers from a broad range of sectors, including real estate and transport, and are involved in a host of market-leading instructions. For example, members acted in Airwave Solutions Ltd v Home Secretary, a case concerning critical national infrastructure that raised some complex legal challenges. The claims allege that the Secretary of State for the Home Department had acted unlawfully by issuing a Deferred National Shutdown Notice, which extended the Airwave contracts by three years. Barristers at 11KBW have appeared in many of the leading High Court claims brought under the Public Contracts and Utilities Contracts Regulations, and have also acted in numerous judicial reviews concerning contract awards, such as R (Good Law Project) v Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. At the forefront of developing procurement law into one of the fastest-growing areas of public law and litigation, 11KBW is, as one commentator notes, “an absolute go-to for public procurement".

Mark Dann is the senior clerk.

Monckton Chambers is an esteemed set that undertakes the full range of procurement cases, both advisory and contentious. Chambers receives instructions from tenderers and contracting authorities alike, and can assist with all stages of the procurement process. Its members have experience across a variety of sectors, from health and transport to utilities and IT. A significant case this year was Airwave Solutions Limited v The Secretary of State for the Home Department, a complex and high-profile procurement dispute. Monckton Chambers acted for Airwave Solutions, the incumbent provider of the UK emergency services mobile network, in a claim alleging that the defendants had breached their obligations under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 by failing to conduct an open procurement process for these services. Members of the set also continued to represent The National Lottery Company in The National Lottery Company v The Gambling Commission, one of the most high-profile and valuable disputes of the year. According to one commentator, the set is "undoubtedly the leading chambers for procurement law.”

David Hockney is the senior clerk.

Keating Chambers is a well-respected set that acts for both contracting authorities and bidders in high-profile procurement challenges. Members have valuable expertise in cases concerning the transport, healthcare and defence sectors, among others. The chambers represented HS2 Limited in the Siemens v HS2 case, where Siemens, an unsuccessful bidder, pursued a multimillion-pound challenge against the contract award for designing, manufacturing and maintaining trains for the new HS2 line. Ultimately, all 17 of Siemens’s challenges were dismissed. As one commentator noted: "Keating is clearly one of the pre-eminent sets for procurement law and has strength from top to bottom.”

Will Shrubsall and James Luxmoore are the joint heads of clerking.