Croydon Council hands largest legal contract to Wragge & Co

Wragge & Co has won Croydon Borough Council's largest legal service contract following the local authority's review of its legal firms.
The review follows the end of Croydon's five-year contract with local firm Stonehams. The council will decide whether to keep its panel of additional firms - Bevan Ashford, Blake Lapthorn and Speechly Bircham - over the summer.
A total of 14 firms competed for the work, with seven shortlisted. Jane Thompson, head of legal services, would not reveal the other firms that competed, but The Lawyer understands they included Bevan Ashford and Blake Lapthorn, as well as Prince Evans and Sharpe Pritchard.
Wragges will handle housing work for the council. Other firms selected include Brighton-based Donne Mileham & Haddock, which will handle civil and criminal litigation, and Norfolk firm Steele & Co, for property contracts.
Peter Keith-Lucas, who heads Wragges' public sector group, says he will be working in partnership with Croydon's legal department: "We have been appointed not just to do the work, but to add value in the training and development of the in-house team," he says.