The NHSLA, which handles all negligence claims against the NHS, will place formal advertisements in the national and trade press this week inviting tenders.
The review will focus on the uniquely-powerful body’s main roster of advisers for clinical negligence work.
The new-look line-up will take effect from 1 April, 2008, and appointments will last for three years.
A Department of Health (DoH) spokesperson said that responses would be collated at the end of October. Successful bidders are likely to be notified by Christmas.
The NHSLA remains a key client for many of the
However, City advisers on the existing 12-strong roster — such as Barlow Lyde & Gilbert — will be on tenterhooks after it emerged this summer the body is currently in discussions with the DoH to relocate a third of its workforce away from London.
Other firms on the panel include Browne Jacobson, Hill Dickinson and Weightmans.
The body caused a storm among legal advisers in 2001 when it slashed the roster from 90 to just 15 firms.
One adviser told Legal Week: “The NHSLA will definitely go out to the market this time round, and it may well go after some fresh blood.”
When the last panel review completed in 2005, it is understood firms secured a small increase in their rates from £150 to £175 an hour for London-based partners.
More news, deal and comment on Allen & Overy
