Nabarro to represent Government on coalminer liabilities
Nabarro has set up a northshoring arrangement that will see it manage all strategic, legal and claims work related to sick coalminers from its Sheffield office.
The firm has signed a deal with the Department of Energy and Climate Change to handle all its liabilities resulting from the former British Coal Corporation and its subsidiaries for the next five years.
Under the new structure Nabarro will channel Scottish legal work to McClure Naismith and all claims work to Deloitte. Partners Jeffrey Hutcheson and Mike Bell will oversee the work at the respective firms.
Sheffield-based dispute resolution partner Carl Dray, who is working with partners James Hartley, Chris Horsefield and Gareth Watkins, said: “For the first time this puts us in charge of claims-handling and Scottish work. Our approach combines the ability to advise on the strategy and tactics of major litigation and claims-handling with a robust, secure, scaleable and value-for-money solution.”
There are two large group actions ongoing, including the Miners Knee Group litigation and around 200 individual claims and 1,000 outstanding claims.
Nabarro has handled miners’ compensation work since the 1990s, when it acquired British Coal’s legal team. But this is the first time the Government has put work out to formal tender to a single supplier. Volume claims work was previously processed by Capita.
