DLA beats rivals to £10m Govt IT role

DLA Piper has seen off Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) and Pinsent Masons to win a Government ­mandate worth up to £10m in fees over five years.

The firm has retained its place as IT adviser to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) following a contest with 13 other firms to win work on the major projects division of the Government’s Catalist super-panel.

Other?firms?in?the ­running included Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith and Linklaters, but only DLA Piper, FFW and Pinsents made it to the final round of the tender.

DLA Piper has been sole adviser to the DWP on IT for the past five years.

North West-based partners Richard Bonnar and Andrew Dyson will lead a team of 14 lawyers working on the delivery of more than £3bn worth of IT systems over the next three years.

Dyson said it was one of the country’s largest public sector contracts, alongside the NHS National Programme for IT, which DLA Piper is also advising on.

He added: “It’s a great win for us and a real opportunity. There are a number of interesting things in the pipeline for the DWP over the next few years.”

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