Masons pulls off strategic coup with OGC win

Masons has scored an important new client with its appointment to advise OGCbuying.solutions on commercial and EU procurement issues.

The firm won a beauty parade of three firms picked from OGCbuying.solutions’ L-Cat legal panel.

“For the law firm this is an important strategic award. It may not be fantastic monetarily, but the public sector will take note that buying. solutions is partnering with Masons,” said a source at the Office of Government Commerce (OGC).

OGCbuying.solutions is the trading arm of the OGC, and provides the procurement vehicle for all in the public sector.

Bird & Bird built its public sector practice around its eight-year reign as the OGC’s chief IT adviser, which was halted last year when DLA took over. The firm’s appointment was largely overshadowed by the launch of L-Cat a week later, but DLA is thought to have had a big influence on IT procurement.

Masons will now have a similar influence in the public sector, but not just on IT procurement. OGCbuying.solutions has no in-house lawyers and will rely on the expertise of EU specialist partner Barbara Lineham and corporate and commercial partner Antoinette Jucker.

L-Cat is a legal panel of 33 firms formed by OGCbuying.solutions for use by all in the public sector.